Decisions
by MKBianca
Summary: The Shaman Fight in America will be in a few weeks. However, Anna developed a new power which interests Hao. What would Yoh do? What will Anna's decision be? Will their feelings for each other last? A love triangle between Yoh X Anna X Hao.
1. Prologue

_**DECISIONS...**_

What should Anna have decided?

Are her decisions always correct?

Yes, it might be... Whenever it comes to other people's sake.

But what if she has to decide for herself?

Would it still be correct... and in the same time acceptable?

Kyoyama Anna always was a powerful girl... Literally and figuratively. Everyone believe that she was always right.

But what if the time will come that her decisions will affect not only herself, but others as well?

Especially...

Asakura Yoh?

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_**DISCLAIMER!**_

This statement tells all... I don't own the anime series Shaman King, but I do own this fanfiction. Well, I do hope I own it, but sadly no.

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_**SUMMARY...**_

In short, this story will focus on the popular love triangle: Yoh X Anna X Hao. Anna has to make a decision whether to give up herself to Hao, or to let Yoh die. It was merely a test to both Yoh and Anna as fiancees, if their not-so-obvious relationship can last long.

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_**PROLOGUE.**_

It was a peaceful and very quiet night. Darkness surrounds everything... Everything were barely seen with naked eye. Yes... _This _darkness. The word itself refers to many negative things. Whenever one hears it, he can't do anything but shiver. Darkness means evil, darkness means pessimism, darkness means death. That's what everyone say. But have you really thought of the true meaning of darkness?

For most shamans, Asakura Hao was the darkness himself. Whenever they talk about the word, they always refer to him. Is that what it really meant? Is darkness really evil? Pessimism? Death? Or simply to say Asakura Hao?

But whatever people refer to him, Hao doesn't seem to be affected at all. In fact, he was actually pleased. He's even happy that he was being referred to evil. Maybe it's because that's who he really was.

Sitting around his little campfire, he was smiling quietly. This smile... It is the smile of a ruthless killer who just found another victim. Who might it be?

"I'm still not finished yet with my true business." He murmured, ignoring the fact he was talking to no one. "I will obtain my half soon, when he gets more powerful. But first..."

His little companion and-even it doesn't look like it-his demon, Opacho, approached him from nowhere. "What are you going to do, Hao?"

Hao continues to smile. "I bet a new power will arrive at Yoh and his spirit soon. A very powerful one... Almost the same level as me."

"But how could it be? No one could overcome your level. You're the most powerful shaman in the universe."

"Oh, but you're wrong, Opacho. I'm not yet the most powerful. My powers were split apart, thanks to my current mother. I won't be the most powerful until I obtained my half's powers."

"But what are you saying about a new power that will arrive before them?"

Hao's gentle smile turned to cruel. He hovered his hand over his campfire, and in an instant a blur image started to appear.

"T-This is..."

"Yes, Opacho... You know who this is."

To her sudden surprise, Kyoyama Anna's image appeared clearly in the fire.

"Opacho doesn't understand. What does your brother's fiancee have to do with this?"

Hao gently let her sit on his lap, and carressed her hair. "Anna. She will be the source of the new power that will arrive before Yoh soon."

"Hao said that power might surpass Hao's level, how could that be?"

"You're asking too many questions, Opacho." Hao continued to smile. "Don't worry, the time will come I will have it all."

"Opacho hopes for Hao to succeed in defeating Hao's rivals." Opacho hugs him, and Hao hugs her back. "I will stay by your side and support you."

"Of course," Hao stares at the fire, which still contains Anna's image, and merely smiled again.

"Yes, the time will come... That Anna will be mine."

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**Forgive me if it seems short, but this is just the prologue.**

**I do hope someone will at least review! (T_T)**


	2. Chapter 1

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

This fanfiction will revolve around the time Yoh and his gang were a few weeks before going to America. I inserted this fanfic around that time, so I hope you won't be confused. I also made some parts of Shaman King fan-made, so if you saw something that isn't true about the series, please excuse me... They were all made by my luxurious imagination. =P

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_**CHAPTER 1.**_

That morning...

Asakura Yoh was resumed to his daily training for the upcoming Shaman Fight that will soon be held at America. This training, or yet as Yoh called it 'torture', includes half a thousand push-ups. Currently Yoh was already doing around 300.

"You can do it, Yoh-kun..." That's what Oyamada Manta can do right now.

"Just a few more, Yoh-dono!" It's also the same for Amidamaru. who was sweating more than Yoh is.

However, despite the difficulties he's encountering right now, he still remains quiet. He was still able to smile. Even though his exhaustion was written all over his face, he still seemed to be enjoying it. Maybe it's because that's who he really was.

As Manta and Amidamaru continues to cheer for him, Kyoyama Anna arrived from the inside the house... Still wearing her sarcastic expression. Manta decides to prepare for whatever Anna would say.

"Manta, I have something for you to do," She points towards the backyard. "Clean it."

_Whaaat? _Believe it or not, that's what really Manta wants to say. Well, even though he wanted to hesitate badly, he knew he just can't... Because he knew his life was into this.

"Yes..."

After Manta left, she glanced at the hardworking Yoh, who's almost finished with his 'torture'. "And Yoh..."

"Y-Yeah?"

"After that, you have to carry two huge barbells and squat for one hour."

"Eeehh?"

Anna's eyes glistened as she glared. "You have something to say, Yoh?"

"Ahh, n-no, nothing..." Yoh can't help but smile despite this... Which is the only way he can do now to save himself from Anna's clutches. _Her punishment is ten times greater than this,_ he puts that in mind.

"...482, 483, 484..."

He glanced at Amidamaru, who was already very tearful of this disappointing sight. It must be too much for him. Yoh just smiled.

"...485, 486, 487..."

Then at Manta, who is trying to interact well with the very tall broom he was carrying. How on earth is he going to sweep well? Yoh just smiled.

"...488, 489, 490..."

And then at Anna, who was watching him calmly. She was, as usual, crossed-arms and her feet were like a meter apart. She's like a doujo master of some sort that is ready to kill anyone who is against her. Maybe it's because that's who she really was.

"...491, 492, 493..."

Well, that's Anna all right. Who knows that the Anna he first met will become the Anna now? Just by thinking about it, Yoh just smiled.

"...494, 495, 496..."

"You're almost there, Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru seems very delighted that Yoh was about to overcome a very impossible test.

"...497, 498, 499..."

Just before he was about to go for the last, a strong wind passes through their house and instead blows Yoh away.

Before anyone of them could react, a monster-like creature appeared before them. Kind of creepy, really.

"What just happened?" Asked Yoh, whose reaction is just that of a curious kid.

"It's a spirit, Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru suddenly appeared on Yoh's side. "And look!"

Everyone looked at the direction where Amidamaru points on, at the gate. An unfamiliar man stood there.

"Who was it?"

"He was the one controlling the spirit, Yoh-dono." Amidamaru seemed to be very anxious. He feels the spirit isn't very weak as it looked to be. "Who are you? You're a shaman, right? What are you doing here? What do you need from us?"

And before they knew it, Anna was at the gate already, directly in front of the man.

"We have a doorbell, mister. No need to send a spirit to let us know."

Yoh just giggled. "You're too carefree, Anna..."

"AS FOR YOU..." Anna points sharply at Yoh, which for him already feels like a needle prickling him even though they were a distance apart. "You haven't finished the push-ups. Thus you're going to do double."

"Whaat? But Anna...!"

"Yes?"

Yoh feels he's going to die. Going against Anna will let him die faster, so he prefers the other option. "N-nothing..."

Yoh began to sob noisily, and later on he cried. Amidamaru feels the same way for Yoh, and he cried with him.

"Kids." Anna turned again to the mysterious man in front of their gate. "So, what do you want?"

The man just stared at her coldly. Then he smiled, saying something which made Anna shiver...

"You."

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**If it seems like short again, please forgive me! I'm trying to make the best suspense for the readers. XD**

**I need reeaders and reviews for me to find out if I should continue this story or not... =(**

**Chapter 2 currently in progress...  
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	3. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for those supporting my story... Your reviews are making my day. =)**

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_**CHAPTER 2.**_

"So mister, what do you want?"

The man just stared at her coldly, and then to Manta, Amidamaru and lastly to Yoh. Then he said something which made Anna shiver.

"You."

The man's cold stare was not enough for Anna's.

"Me?"

The two stared for a long time, making the atmosphere very uncomfortable and cold. Yoh and Amidamaru's faces became serious, hearing something unnatural and especially saying that in front of Anna.

Minutes have passed, everyone waiting for both people's reaction. But Anna doesn't seem to intend about asking why. Instead she waits for the man to say it.

Suddenly, the cold atmosphere suddenly turned joyful when the man began to laugh like mad.

"Haha! Just kidding, just kidding... You're scared, aren't you? Hahaha... Sorry, I'm just kidding..."

Everyone's faces turned blank. They don't know what to react. However Yoh suddenly giggles, seeming to be satisfied that the man didn't mean what he said. Amidamaru was later on forced to laugh too.

"That doesn't seem to be funny."

Anna's cold glare sent Yoh and Amidamaru goosebumps, and they suddenly became quiet.

Manta walked over beside Yoh. "You really find it funny? I don't actually get it..."

Yoh just smiled. "Me neither." Then he giggled again, his famous 'Eerh-hi-hi-hi'.

"Seriously, mister. What do you want?" Anna turned once again towards the man, whose eyes were watering with tears of laughter.

"Sorry, sorry." The man's happy face turned serious. His ghost spirit suddenly arisen, almost covering Yoh and Amidamaru.

"Yoh-dono, I have a bad feeling about this." Amidamaru whispered to Yoh.

However, Yoh doesn't seem to be paying much attention to it. He just smiled.

"Actually, what I really want is..." The man turned to Yoh. "Asakura Yoh!"

He violently shoved Anna away and caused her to bump on the wall. Then he ran inside the Asakura house in great speed, waving a rope in his hand.

"Sumeriya!" The man yelled, by which the spirit responds. "Thorn Wave!"

His rope suddenly grew thorns, and it increased in size. The spirit was then found inside it. "I'm going to kill you, Asakura Yoh!"

"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru exclaimed, obviously worrying about Yoh, but Yoh seems to be handling the situation well. He dodged the attack the very moment, and it missed him.

"There, there," Yoh still remains calm, still with that annoying smile in his face. "You shouldn't be treating the one you have business with like that."

"Shut up! I'm here to kill you!" The man waved another of his rope, and the thorns attached to it flew towards Yoh's direction.

Amidamaru came into Yoh's defense on time, and the thorns just bounced over him. "Yoh-dono, be careful! That rope is his medium!"

"I know, I know, Amidamaru." He closed his eyes, still in his calm state. "But as much as possible, I don't want to fight over with someone who cannot even control his Furyoku."

"What did you say? Are you saying I'm weak?"

"Well, I'm trying not to, but you said it anyway... So don't blame me!"

"Why you..." The man was pissed off by Yoh's words, and with one wave from his rope, the rope suddenly hardens and turns into a huge axe. "Don't underestimate me! Go on and put your Oversoul on! Or else I will kill you defenselessly!"

He continues to hit any places where Yoh lands on, ignoring that he was even damaging the house.

"Y-Yoh-kun! Be careful!" Manta exclaims from the backyard, and glanced at Anna who's currently on fire. "A-And Yoh-kun, try not to let him demolish the house!"

Yoh landed on one part of the frontyard, seeing the man already exhausted.

"Are you still going to continue?"

"It's... My mission... To defeat you..." The man whispers, which almost didn't reach Yoh's ears. The man manages to stand despite the exhaustion and overuse of furyoku, still ongoing with his 'mission'.

"Woah, I'm kinda impressed now... You're one tough mister, mister." Yoh laughed.

"Don't underestimate me! Prepare yourself!"

Yoh stared at the man. He was seeing the man's determination, and now he ewas convinced that the man was indeed strong at heart... Whoever he is. Yoh finally decides to become serious, hoping to end this once and for all.

Yoh brings out his katana, the Harusame, out in the air. "Okay, just as you said, I'm going to be serious now." He calls out on Amidamaru, who was ready to become one with the katana. "Amidamaru in Harusame! Oversoul!"

Amidamaru entered Harusame, and great power suddenly appeared from it. Yoh formed in offense. "By the way, I forgive you even though you almost destroyed our house... But! I won't forgive that you didn't even let me finish my 500 push-ups! It's your fault why I'm going to do double!" Manta laughed sarcastically. "So prepare yourself!"

Yoh did the first move, and attacked. The man was really weak when it comes to uncontrollable furyokus, so he was getting defeated easily. All he can do is act on defense.

After many swings from the two, the man's furyoku was ultimately weak and the man was unable to move. The thorned rope loosens its power and its spirit was free from it. The man lies in the grass, exhausted.

"You're overconfident about the situation, that you didn't even notice you're overusing your furyoku. You can't control your furyoku if you even cannot control yourself."

The man breathes heavily, ashamed of himself. He won't accept the fact he was defeated by a kid, and even gave advice to him. He doesn't know what to say to his _master_.

"Well, I guess it's finished. You can go home now, mister." Yoh released his furyoku and freed Amidamaru from his Oversoul. He entered the house, yawning.

Even though seeing everything has ended and the result was positive, Anna stormed over Yoh and pulls his hair. She ordered him to repair the broken parts of the house, and afterwards do his training (the thousand push-ups and squatting with barbells). Yoh cried again.

However, the man, who was left lying on the frontyard, can't seem to accept everything he has experienced just now. He's so ashamed, and he can't help but attack his defenseless prey.

Once he has slightly recovered, he suddenly yelled "Sumeriya!", in which his spirit responded again.

Yoh, Anna, Manta and Amidamaru turned to see the sight, and there they saw the spirit heading towards their direction. Before they knew it, due to the spirit's great speed, it had captured Anna and wrapped its arms around her.

"Anna!"

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**Reviews are much appreciated... Tell me if there's something in my story I need to change... =)**

**Chapter 3 in progress...  
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	4. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER THREE.**_

Before they knew it, the man's spirit suddenly grabbed Anna with great speed. Everything just happened all of a sudden.

"Anna!"

Yoh was surprised that the man was still able to use his remaining strength to use the spirit's great asset-its speed.

However, even if she was in the threshold of danger, Anna was still very calm. She was sarcastic at all times. Her expression is like 'So-what-if-I'm-captured-I-don't-care' look. She even rested her chin on the spirit's arm.

"Anna-san doesn't seem to be scared." Manta whispered.

"Well, she doesn't seem like to be enjoying it, too." Yoh whispered also. He was staring at Anna. Anna seems to be staring back, now wearing the expression 'Hurry-up-and-save-me' look.

Yoh held out his katana once again, as much as possible not trying to use his Oversoul.

"Mister, I think you picked a wrong victim to hostage," a sweatdrop suddenly fell from Yoh. "Just saying."

"Shut up!" The man was now very pissed off. "I don't care what you say! If you ever made a mistake about attacking me, this girl will die!"

And that very moment, Anna's sarcastic expression turned to sudden nervousness. She began to shiver. She began to sweat. In short, she was beginning to get afraid.

Yoh noticed Anna's change of mood. It was after a moment before he realized it.

"Y-Yoh-kun! Anna-san was..." Manta rubbed his eyes to assure himself he was seeing the right thing. "Anna-san was afraid!"

Yoh never made a response. He was unable to move then.

The man however, realized that Yoh couldn't bear to fight with Anna as his hostage. He began to smile cruelly, proud of what he did. "What I want is simple," he stated, "You come with me and this girl lives. If not, then expect the opposite."

Yoh remained quiet. Amidamaru was worried to both Yoh and Anna.

"Yoh-dono, what are you going to do? I'm sure we'll be able to retrieve Anna-dono easily, let's just distract him..."

"No."

Amidamaru and Manta was surprised to hear something like that from Yoh. "Y-Yoh-dono?"

The both of them stared at Yoh, who at the other hand was staring at Anna. They turned to see Anna as well, and was shocked about the sight. Anna was paralyzed with fear.

"A-Anna-dono was..." Amidamaru can't take what he's seeing. "She was acting unnatural... She wasn't acting what she usually does..."

Suddenly a scream was heard from Anna. She began to struggle very hard, trying to let go of the spirit whose arms wrapped around her. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Anna-san!"

"Yoh-dono, what are you going to do?"

Yoh was still unable to move even an inch, and unable to say something even a whisper. His eyes were glistening, concentrating very hard.

Meanwhile, the man was still laughing heavily. He was proud of himself that he consider on placing a hostage as a bait for Yoh.

"Let go of me! Let me go!" Those words were still heard from Anna. She keeps struggling like a captured little girl.

"What's happening to Anna-san? She was usually calm even though she was in the most dangerous situations! This is totally different!" Manta keeps on ranting, waiting for an answer from Yoh. "Yoh-kun!"

Yoh's eyes were hidden from his laid hair. He was totally serious right now.

"We all know Anna almost shows no reaction at all, whatever the situation is... But today is different, because..." Yoh hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and tells his story for a moment.

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_**FLASHBACK**_

"Let go of me! Please!"

A little girl's voice were heard from afar.

However, 10-year-old Asakura Yoh never recognized the voice, which surprisingly arrived from nowhere.

Yoh was just resting under a huge tree just somewhere around his neighborhood, along with his little companion Matamune. He was about to go to sleep when he heard a little girl's scream from who-knows-where.

"No! Don't! Let go of me!"

Yoh, being very self-proud at that time, tries to pretend he doesn't hear anything. He doesn't want to waste some of his precious time going to see who could that be.

"No, no...!"

Yoh's eyebrows twitched. He was getting annoyed with that screaming. Still he refuses to leave his place, expecting someone would come rescue whoever-it-was. That girl must've been stuck from something.

"Please, no... Aaaahh...!"

Finally Yoh's eyes opened, his expression was irritated. He got up from his place, looking around, but no one seemed to be in sight. Was that only his imagination? Or...

"Won't you go see whoever that is, Yoh?" His little cat, Matamune, murmured.

"Why would I? I believe I shouldn't stick my nose with others' business."

Still, echoes of the girl's scream continued to catch Yoh's attention. His body was confused of what to do.

"You would want to go see, I know you would," Matamune licked his paws. "Come on, Yoh, let's go see."

Yoh stared at him, his face still covered with annoyed expression, but somehow he agrees to go see. They followed where the screams were coming from, and not so long the sound was getting louder and louder...

Until they arrived in a deserted place wherein they saw a big, creepy monster-like creature harrassing a little girl. They realized this is the place, and there was the girl, screaming.

Yoh's eyes widened. "Who was that?"

"The monster or the girl?"

"Both."

"How should I know!"

Yoh and Matamune can't help but stare on that horrible scene. The monster wrapped its arms around the blonde-haired little girl, which is unabling her to breathe.

"That doesn't look like a spirit. That monster must be different." Matamune hissed. He turned to Yoh whose expression was that of very amazed. His nails scratched a little of Yoh's leg, which made him fall down.

"W-what are you doing, Matamune? What's that for?"

"Are you just going to stare at them until the girl dies? You're a shaman, right? Save her!"

"How am I going to do that? I have no idea about being a shaman yet!"

Matamune sighed. He realized Yoh was still very young and still wasn't taught of advanced shaman techniques. He still has no spirit too, so he can't do anything.

"Noo! Don't!" The girl was slowly being crushed by the monster's arms.

However, Yoh's grumpy attitude has changed. Now he seemed to very concerned about the situation... About the girl's safety. He suddenly ran towards the scene, drawing out a wooden stick from the ground and started swaying it.

"You ugly, creepy monster! Let go of her!" Yoh slowly approached the monster and hits it with the stick.

"Yoh! What the hell are you doing? Come back here, or you'll get killed!" Matamune also ran towards the scene in fast speed, but doesn't bother to get nearer.

"Get away from her, I say! Get away!" Yoh just ignored Matamune. But seeing the scene, the monster was very big enough for Yoh to handle, so there will a hundred percent chance Yoh and the little girl to get killed.

It wasn't long 'til the monster was pissed with Yoh's unnecessary doing. He grabbed Yoh like a little toy, and tried to crush him like the little girl. Yoh's screams were then heard.

"YOH!" Matamune, who cannot bear with the horrible scene ongoing, ran as fast as he can towards them. Soon great power arises from him, and he was yet able to knock the monster down, leading it to let go of Yoh and the girl.

"Yoh, use me! Use me to defeat it!" Matamune said as he approaches the exhausted Yoh.

When Yoh was back to his senses, his eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"Use my power to defeat the monster. I assure you it will work out."

"How?"

"I'm going to go inside you, and you will be powerful. My power will be yours, now and then."

Yoh couldn't believe what he heard. "Y-You're going inside me? Until when...?"

Matamune's bright eyes glistened. "Forever."

These words shocked Yoh, but it only took him a while to be convinced and agreed. He concentrated for a moment, and not long Matamune entered inside Yoh. He felt more powerful than ever, and he felt he can do anything even though he was not fully trained. He picked up the stick once again and aimed for the monster.

The monster however, was still trying to kill the girl. As it was on its way towards her, Yoh suddenly flew from the ground and swung the stick and attacked the monster.

"I told you to get away from her, didn't I?" Yoh yelled.

"I don't care what you say! If you ever made a mistake about attacking me, this girl will die!" To his surprise, the monster just talked.

Even so, Yoh ignored it. "You will still do either!" Soon, he was able to cut the monster in half and it disappeared.

Even though it has ended, Yoh couldn't believe his only best friend was gone forever, even though it remained inside him. It wasn't a spirit, though, only Matamune's power.

Yoh approached the unconscious girl and tried to wake her up. Several wounds covered her body.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Not long, the girl opened her eyes. A blur image of Yoh appeared in front of her. It wasn't the monster anymore... Everything has ended.

Yoh, however, stared the girl. Even though several wounds were covering most of her body even her face, he was still able to tell she was beautiful. Just staring at her made him blush a lot.

"W-what's your name?" Yoh almost couldn't speak and was unstable.

The girl's charming eyes stared at him, and she said sweetly...

"Kyoyama... Anna."

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**Ehem. What you just read is what you call a FANFICTION. I based this according to my understanding about the real story, so I made something that somehow relates to it and was from my wild imagination and creativity.**

**Please don't hate me! I knew I kinda messed up Yoh and Anna's first meeting, but this is what I want my story to turn out. Heheh.**

**I just hope you guys enjoy! =" More reviews please!  
**


	5. Chapter 4

_**FLASHBACK...**_

...Yoh continued to stare at the girl's charming face, which even though was covered with dirt and wounds, he could see her beauty. His face was very red. Is this... Love at first sight?

"W-what's your name?" Yoh asked, still unstable.

The girl's eyes looked back at Yoh, and she said in a quiet voice...

"Kyoyama... Anna."

Anna? That seems like a very beautiful name for a beautiful girl like her. Yoh blushed more.

"W-what happened? Why are you with a monster like that?"

Anna suddenly gets teary-eyed. "I... don't know..." She quietly sobbed.

Yoh feels awe for her. This girl must've been abandoned from her hometown, wherever it is, and she ended up here. A monster might be living here and it attacked Anna and this must be what happened... That's what Yoh thought.

"Come on," Yoh suddenly smiled, and offered his hand to Anna. "Let's go home."

Anna just stared.

"I will be taking you to my home. My grandparents were taking care of me, I'm sure they will gladly accept you."

Anna continued to stare. She was confused in the current situation. Just earlier she was attacked by some monster, and now some kid will smile annoyingly and take her to his home. What the hell is happening here?

"Well?" Yoh's face was irresistible. Anna couldn't help but stare at him.

As Anna kept staring, Yoh was kinda irritated with the silence and suddenly grabbed her. "Let's go!"

They both ran, ran as fast as they could... Heading towards Yoh's home.

Who knows that this encounter will lead to their engagement?

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

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Manta and Amidamaru stared at the quiet Yoh, amazed of he and Anna's past... The first time they've met.

"S-so that's what happened..." Manta was speechless, unaware of what to say. He never knew Anna's past was _this_ hard. "Anna-san must've developed a trauma from what happened that day, and it happened again... She must've remembered."

Yoh suddenly draws out his Harusame, aiming for the spirit grabbing Anna. "Amidamaru." his voice was completely serious.

Amidamaru responded, and went inside the Harusame once again. The katana suddenly releases great power.

Meanwhile, Anna was still struggling inside the spirit's arms, crying for help. She was totally different from the Anna everyone always knew.

"Hahaha! Yes, Asakura Yoh... Try to get her back! Soon I will be taking you to my _master_!" The man was laughing like mad again. "Sumeriya, make her suffer more!"

The spirit did as he was told, and just like what happened three years ago, Anna was getting crushed by it.

"N-no! Aaaahh!"

"STOP IT."

Everyone turned to the speaker... who was Yoh. His face was showing the expression of anger. His hands were gripping Harusame very tight... Ready to get some action.

"So, Asakura Yoh, you've decided to fight me, eh? Come on... Come on and save this girl!" The old man readied his rope once again.

Yoh walked slowly towards the man.

"If you think I'm going to get defeated by you, you're WRONG. But if you think I will let you hurt Anna that way, you're definitely out of your mind!" Yoh suddenly drew Amidamaru's power and released it from his katana. Harusame was covered in flames.

The man took a step backward, shocked of the scene. He never expected Yoh to be _this _serious.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid? Well you should be. A haggard man like you shouldn't even be stepping inside this property! You aren't worth fighting, actually. You never fight fairly. Instead you're going after your opponent's weakness!"

Yoh was actually in flames himself, obviously very angry. Manta was very surprised with this sudden change of mood too. Who knows that Yoh actually cares for Anna.

Anna, on the other hand, stopped struggling. She is witnessing Yoh's anger. She never really thought Yoh will act very differently if she was in danger like she is now. Maybe because she was really never in danger since their first meeting.

"I promised Anna..." Yoh continued, "...That I will make her life easy. I promised Anna that she will be the Shaman King's wife-to-be. She is actually the reason why I'm here right now... Why I'm still living right now. It's because I promised her I will become the Shaman King."

Anna's eyes widened. She cannot believe what Yoh was saying just now.

"If you think I wanted to be Shaman King because I wanted to be lazy and live an easy life myself, you're wrong. I'm not some fool to risk my life fighting my friends or Shaman opponents for only that reason. I actually have my main reason... and that reason was Anna."

With those words, Anna's heart soften. She never expected to hear something like this from her not-so-obvious fiancee.

Meanwhile, the man was currently shivering. He didn't know what to do now. Unintentionally, he has angered Yoh, which was not on his plan.

"And also, tell me one more thing..." Yoh pointed Harusame towards the man. "How would you use that rope if you're spirit was doing other business?"

And that's when the man realized he cannot do Oversoul without his spirit. Realizing this, he slowly steps backward, with Yoh still approaching him.

"D-don't come closer! O-or the girl'll die!"

Yoh smirked. "Heh, you think I'm gonna let you do that?" He swung Harusame towards the man but instead of hitting him, strong wind from the katana's exerted force blew the man away.

Manta can't help but stare quietly towards the unbelievable scene. He never knew something like this will happen very unexpectedly... No one knows, actually. But Manta's reaction was unexplainable. He cannot believe his outgoing and carefree best friend turned as serious as this... And the Anna that he often refers to as 'demon' or 'nightmare' turned to a little kid she was once before. Everything happened in an instant.

Meanwhile, Yoh wasn't actually attacking the old man, but the spirit itself. Even though Yoh is very serious about the situation, he still tries to avoid too much violence. He cannot attack a defenseless man, even though the man did it to him... Yoh still cares about everything.

Seeing the spirit was able to hold humans, Yoh took advantage of destroying the arm clutching Anna. But the spirit is stronger than he thought.

"Hah, you cannot defeat my Sumeriya that easily," the man continued to blabber. "He's stronger than you think he is."

Yoh ignores the chattering of the old man, but he seemed to be distracted by him. Not long, the spirit manages to defend himself and hits Yoh with a powerful sway of arm. Yoh was dug in the ground.

"Yoh!"

"Yoh-kun!"

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**I know Yoh's been acting weird in this story... Well, this is how the story goes, so... Don't worry, he'll be back in his old self soon. =D**

**Please review!  
**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you very much for supporting, xXxGothicButterflySpiritxXx... I admire those reviews a lot. =)**

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**CHAPTER 5.**

As Yoh was attacking the spirit, the old man continues to chatter. Yoh ignores him, but still, he seemed distracted by it. Not long, Yoh was hit by the spirit with a powerful sway of arm. Yoh fell down brutally, and was dug into the ground.

"Yoh!"

"Yoh-kun!"

Anna and Manta's voices were heard. Anna was now very worried. As she is an Itako, she has an idea of what kind of strength a shaman's spirit is. This spirit was no ordinary. Even if the man holding it was weak, the spirit itself was powerful... If, by any chance, it may be more powerful than Amidamaru.

Even with that brutal landing, Yoh still manages to get up. He smiled, even though he has wounds all over his body. He was being forced to pretend he's okay, just not to let his friends down.

Anna knew this kind of attitude from Yoh. If Yoh gets serious even in one small thing, he will do everything to finish it soon. He never wanted to leave his work unfinished. He never let his goal unachieved. That's who Yoh really is. Because of this, she knew that Yoh won't stop until he gets Anna free, even if he receives fatal wounds. There may be 10% chance he will die.

_You idiot, you're really an idiot! _Anna whispered to herself, seeing Yoh's determination to save her. _You're here right now, risking your life just to save me... Now what about the Shaman Fight?_

She can't do anything but to watch Yoh get beat up slowly. He was feeling weak.

"Hahaha! Now what do you say with my power, Asakura Yoh? Now you're nothing against me!" The man, on the other hand, kept laughing.

"What's happening right now has nothing to do with you..." Yoh coughed. "It's your spirit that's powerful, not you."

"What?" The man was again pissed off. He hits the monster with his rope. "Sumeriya! Go finish that headphone boy!"

"So that's how you're treating your spirit? By smashing him with your rope? Are you really that retarded to be a Shaman?" Yoh's anger doubled. "Spirits aren't treated like that! You're one heck of a monster yourself!"

"W-wha...? Y-you!" The man again hits the spirit with his rope. "Hurry, dammit!"

"I said stop it!" Yoh now decided to attack the man. Still, the man was defenseless, so all he can do is crouch and wait for someone to save him.

And there was someone-or something rather-that saved him. His spirit. It blows Yoh away again, which causes his back to hit one of the poles violently.

"Yoh-kun!" This is what Manta can only do in situations like this, watch and react. He wished he could do at least anything for Yoh, but he can't.

Anna continued to struggle, but she seems to return back to her normal self. "Yoh, stop it! You're just wasting your strength! Save it up for the Shaman Fight!"

Yoh, still weak, forced himself to laugh. "That's what you're still thinking about, Anna? The Shaman Fight? I believe I should fulfill my priority as a fiancee first..."

Still, he manages to get up, but he wasn't stable anymore.

"Y-Yoh..."

"Don't worry, I won't die. I don't intend to. I still have my promise that I will be Shaman King, remember? Don't underestimate me." Yoh smiled again, and draws his katana. "Amidamaru, one more time!"

Hearing an agreeing response from Amidamaru, Yoh attacked the man's spirit again, even though he might have no chance of winning.

Anna couldn't bear to watch anymore. She closed her eyes, and kept shouting, "Asakura Yoh! You are a very big idiot!"

Still, with Yoh's gentle smile, he responded, "I know."

Sooner or later, Yoh was hit again. But how many times he was hit, he still manages to get up. This is who really Yoh is. The same old annoying Yoh.

Anna suddenly grab hold of her Itako necklace. She grips it hard, praying for the spirits to come and help her. Suddenly, light appeared in her place, covering her whole body... And not long light surrounded the whole place.

The spirit was blinded by the light, and that caused him to let go of Anna. Anna however was unconscious.

"Manta, take care of Anna! I'll finish this!" With that statement, he decided to attack the blinded spirit once more. But this time, his moves were different... VERY different.

"NO! This can't be! Sumeriya, what are you doing? Kill him!" The man again hits the spirit more times.

"Like I will let you to!" Even if Yoh just swayed his katana lightly, a very powerful force came out of it. His style of fighting today was like... Hao's level.

The man kept on ranting to his spirit the words 'kill him', and so the spirit responded. His huge arm swung over and exerted a huge amount of force, that if came in contact Yoh would've been killed instantly.

However, Yoh was unable to defend himself since the spirit's attack was powerful, so he can't do anything but receive that attack. Manta screamed.

When the spirit attacked, to everyone's surprise... Yoh wasn't in his place anymore. He must've received that fatal attack and he should be in the verge of death right now, but he wasn't. Instead he disappeared... Did he really?

"Yoh-kun!" Manta kept on calling Yoh, wherever he is, but he was nowhere in sight. Even the man... He was surprised about what happened. Does a shaman have an ability to disappear? He never knew such a thing.

But suddenly, Yoh reappeared from the sky, directly above the spirit. To the man's surprise, Yoh managed to hit him with his _very_ powerful attack... "Shinku Buttagiri!"

In an instant, the spirit was cut in half and it vanishes. It just means the man has no longer his spirit. He kneeled down in defeat, still shocked. Seeing that he can no longer fight, he ran away as fast as he could, trying to save himself, but is worrying... "What will my _master_ say?"

Meanwhile, as Yoh landed, he kneeled down too. He was exhausted. He feels Amidamaru's powers were over-exerted, like 150% of his furyoku was used.

"Yoh-kun! What happened?" Manta hurriedly approached him. Yoh suddenly lied down, half-conscious.

"I...I..." Yoh panted. "I don't know... It was... so sudden..." He's really breathing hard, sinced he overused his powers that even his body can't handle. "Amidamaru..."

Amidamaru appeared in front of Yoh, he too, exhausted. "I'm sorry, Yoh-dono... I, too, didn't know what happened."

Yoh suddenly fainted. His body was overfatigued and he needs hours of sleep. Even Anna still hasn't waken up. Amidamaru however cannot move anymore in too much exhaust. Now, all was left was Manta.

"Now what." Manta lied down too, unaware of what to do with his fellow companions. "Now what am I going to do with this?"

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**Well, I'll leave it to you guys on how you understood the chapter... XD**

**Still needing more reviews... _**

**Chapter 6 in progress...  
**


	7. Chapter 6

**Wee, thanks guys! Thanks for supporting! =D**

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**CHAPTER 6.**

One sunny morning, Yoh, Manta and Amidamaru were seen together around their small table still inside the Asakura house, drinking tea.

"It's been a day..." Manta sipped his homemade tea. "...since that incident happened."

"Yeah." Both Yoh and Amidamaru responded.

"It's been a day..." Manta again sipped. "...and Anna-san's still not waking up."

"Yeah."

"It's been a day..." Once more. "...and we're still here, sitting like retarded frogs! What's wrong with you, Yoh-kun? Won't you find out what or who was that man?"

"Ehh..." Yoh stared at his tea, which was never been drank. He just motions the glass in circles, a boring way to kill time.

And yet, Amidamaru is still in his concentration mode, arms and legs crossed.

"Still, I didn't understand what happened back then," Amidamaru hissed. "I mean, I feel I have so much great power and I'm like the greatest samurai in the world. I even managed to disappear in the midst of the opponent's attack, and reappear behind it! It was still too good to be true."

"You don't have to worry about it, Amidamaru." Yoh grinned. "Whatever it is, I believe it was the result of our hardwork as a shaman."

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Meanwhile, in Anna's room, Anna was still lying in her bed. The sun's rays were directly shining to her face, which leads her to wake up. Thus she did, sat down for a moment and looked around her. There was nothing but the four walls in her room and a few of her things.

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Manta began to bring out his always ready encyclopedia. He scanned over it for a moment, and shook his head. "But Yoh-kun, does shamans really have the ability to disappear? I mean, however you look at it, science can't explain those kind of things."

"Uhh, is that so?" Yoh said sarcastically as he continued to play with his glass, almost never minding Manta.

"Yoh-kun, will you listen to me? You should know this isn't normal!"

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Anna grabbed her night robes and wears it. She decided to go down the stairs, just at least to see everyone. As she walked in the semi-dark hallway, she thinks she will go to sleep after a little talk with his fiancee.

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"Don't worry, Manta, I'm sure everything will be all right." Yoh grinned again. "It's no really big deal if something impossible like that happens in a Shaman Fight. The Shamans' true goal is to make the impossible possible."

"It's no time to share proverbs, Yoh-kun. I understand how Shamans fight, but doesn't it at least worry you that your way of fighting suddenly differ than usual?"

Amidamaru nodded. "Yes, I have noticed that too. It's like my body has a mind on its own... It knows when to dodge an attack."

"Really? Then that truly is troublesome," Yoh sighed. Suddenly he smiled again. "But isn't it great? We needn't have to plan a strategy, right?"

Manta laughed sarcastically and sweat-dropped.

Suddenly, the door just behind Yoh slid open, and there was Anna standing. She doesn't seem to be in mood.

Manta was surprised that he even spilled his tea. "A-Anna-san! You've waken up!"

Anna gave a death glare. "Isn't it obvious?"

Manta began to sit down in fear.

"A-Anna... It's nice to see you again well." Yoh slowly crawled away from the door. "We were worried that you might've developed a trauma and you weren't able to overcome it..."

"Do you really think I'm that of a retard, Yoh?" Yoh suddenly gulped and crawled faster. Anna just sighed in disappointment. "I thought you guys have changed a bit since that fight... But I was wrong. It's still the same."

Yoh and Manta were forced to laugh.

"Anyway, I have something to tell you." Anna turned to Amidamaru. "The impossible ability and power that you just experienced is actually from me."

Amidamaru's eyes widened. "W-what do you mean, Anna-dono?"

"It must've happened when I was clutched inside the spirit's arms, and Yoh started ranting about our past which really isn't necessary..." Yoh laughed sarcastically. "I reached out for my necklace and begged for the spirits to give you power. They must've heard my prayers and they came to you."

"That power is from the spirits?" Amidamaru cupped his chin. "B-but, they don't seem to be..."

"Woah, really Anna?" Ignoring Amidamaru, Yoh was actually very interested. "Since when did you get that kind of ability? That ability to ask spirits for power?"

"I don't really know, either." Anna sighed. "I just felt I could do such thing when I heard you rant about our past."

Yoh's eyes widened, also does Manta's. "Just because of it...?"

"I don't know why, but I suddenly felt strange and I've had goosebumps when I heard you say your speech. And then I feel like I could do something to help you, so I came to this."

"Does that mean you're the only one to discover such power, Anna-san?" Manta asked.

"Who knows." Anna closed her eyes and turned around. "We never know."

Silence began to occur, and lasted for less than five minutes.

"Well then," Anna stepped out of the room. "I'm going back to sleep. I'm still tired, I might have overused my power."

"But Anna, aren't you going to eat?" Yoh consulted her, in which she responds 'no'. "But you should've been hungry!"

Anna turned. "Is there food prepared for me? This instant?"

"N-no..."

"Then I'm going to sleep." She walked away, but even Yoh tried to follow her, he won't convince her anyway. "Just wake me up if there's food prepared."

Yoh, Manta and Amidamaru were left alone in the living room once again, and silence surrounded the whole place.

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**Well... Not much action has happened in this chapter, just a little talking...**

**But I bet you understand the explanation right? Feel free to ask if you don't understand something. :)**

**Chapter 7 in progress...  
**


	8. Chapter 7

**An Anna and Yoh chapter. Well... I don't really know if we can say it like that, though. Haha. I'll just leave it to your understanding. =)**

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**CHAPTER 7.**

Anna stayed inside her room for hours. She keeps staring at her necklace, the 1080 beads, her source of power. She, too, was shocked of what happened the day before... And she, too, didn't know what really happened.

She decided to try again. She concentrated... Holding her necklace with both hands... And kept quiet for minutes. But then, nothing happened.

She placed her necklace on a table and lied down on her bed. She was thinking to bring Yoh and Amidamaru tomorrow to his grandparents for special training... And to consult them with the power the 1080 beads released. Yeah, this should work out.

Suddenly her stomach began to growl. She was hungry. She may've regretted she ignored Yoh's offer of food, but then she doesn't choose to go back down and eat. It would be a huge humiliation in her life... Aside from acting childishly yesterday.

Still lying on the bed, she curled up her body, clutching her empty stomach... She realized she's still not eating since yesterday. What a life. Now what will Anna do? Get back down, say she's hungry and order Yoh for food, or stay inside her room and force herself to sleep? Both options are humiliating.

Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. Anna turned over, not saying anything. She didn't even bother to ask who it is. She just waited until her guest would be the one to talk.

"Anna? Are you still awake?" And there was Yoh. He keeps on knocking.

Anna glared at the door and sat down. "Yeah."

Yoh slowly slides the door open, but it seems he's doing it with his foot. And there Anna saw he have his hands full.

'What's that you're holding?" Anna asked sarcastically.

"Ah, this?" Yoh was busy removing his slippers and placed a tray on the table. "I bet you're hungry, so I and Manta made you a snack. Sorry if it took long, we repeated it 24 times to make sure the taste will suite you." Yoh sweat-dropped and giggled.

Anna just stared at him, unaware of what to say.

"It's quarter to six," Anna sighed. "You still think it was a snack?"

"Ahh, I know..." Yoh scratched his head. "So let's just say it's an early dinner."

Anna twitched her eyebrows. Well, at least she won't have to waste time going down. Her husband-to-be is preparing dinner by himself. How independent.

"This food must taste good," Anna said as Yoh offered her the tray. "It should be worth the wait."

"Uhh, y-yeah..." Yoh giggled sarcastically, he, himself isn't even sure.

Anna took the fork, and sank it down a viand. She picked the fork with the piece of the viand up, and munched on it. Yoh was sweating plenty and he gulped.

After a few munching moments, Anna turned to Yoh.

"H-how was it...?" Yoh asked, shivering.

Anna stared at him for a few minutes, and closed her eyes. "Good, you passed."

Yoh's smile grew large. He feels his heart jumping for joy. Wow, he was so proud of himself. This must be the first time Anna complimented something he worked hard for.

Even though Anna tried not to make it obvious, Yoh can see she was really hungry. It even crossed his mind that Anna might've lied about the taste because she can't wait for him to prepare another meal. Yoh just smiled and sweat-dropped once again.

As Anna was about to be finished, this is when she just realized that Yoh's been watching her all the time.

"What are you looking at?" Anna asked, glaring, while Yoh scratches his head. "Why are you still here?"

"Uhh, me?" Yoh continued to scratch his head, thinking of a possible answer. "Well... I may be waiting for you to finish your meal, to... You know, for me to dispose of the tray..."

"That's not a reason." Anna ate the last of her meal and offered the empty tray to Yoh. "Now go and leave. I'm going to sleep."

Anna began to arrange her bed while Yoh continued to sit there, still watching. Anna turned to him, giving him another death glare. "Why are you still here?"

"Ah! Uhh..." Yoh was surprised himself. "Y-yeah, sorry, I'll be going."

He stood up and picked the tray, and heads straight toward the door. On his way there, he noticed the necklace scattered over the table. A strange aura suddenly revolved around the room.

"Anna..."

"Yeah, I felt that."

"What is it?"

"Who knows." Anna approached Yoh, still staring at the necklace. But the aura seemed to have faded away.

"You said Amidamaru's new power came from that necklace. Did grandma taught you something like that... Or did you really just discovered the power yourself?"

Anna looked at him. "Neither. I don't have any idea, that's why I'm planning to go to your grandparents' house tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I have to consult them about this power I discovered. And you're going with me."

"Eh? Why?"

"Don't give me that stupid look. I can't leave you here. You're going to take both my and grandpa's 'special training'."

"Do I really have to, Anna? Didn't I behaved well these past days? Don't you think I deserve a break...?"

Anna's death glare was now _really _deadly. She was in flames. "Are you trying to go against me?"

Yoh is now sweating heavily, and gulped many times. He feels like he's going to faint. "N-no, ma'am!"

"Then it's settled. Now go, make sure you wash the dishes. Tomorrow I must see the whole house clean." Anna shoved Yoh away and continued to arrange her bed.

However, Yoh was still standing there, staring at the necklace. He wasn't moving an inch.

"What are you waiting for?" Anna was annoyed.

"Hey, Anna..." Yoh dropped the tray on the table, picked up the necklace and walked slowly towards Anna's bed. "Will you do it again... Show me this power?"

Anna stared at him silently. Her expression was 'why?'. Yoh noticed that and answered it.

"I... I want to see how much it affect the both of us."

"What do you mean?"

Yoh sat down and held Anna's hand. Although it's not obvious, she blushed and her heart was beating fast. Must be the first time that Yoh did something like this, and serious.

Suddenly Yoh offered her the necklace, in which Anna accepted, and now the both of them were holding it. Anna wasn't sure of what Yoh is really doing, but instead of being cold, she just let him do this. She doesn't exactly know why.

"Now, release the power inside." Yoh said, which is almost a whisper.

"I-I don't know how..."

"You have to," Yoh insisted. "I have to find out."

About what? Anna thought. He was very mysterious right now. Yoh wasn't acting as he used to be. Well, if she doesn't do what he says she won't find out... So she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Slowly, the power from before was arising from the necklace, and Anna was getting successful. But instead of a bright image forming within her, she saw something else... Something that almost made her faint...

The image of Asakura Hao.

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**Wee! More suspense! =P**

**Chapter 8 in Progress...**

**In need of reviews...  
**


	9. Chapter 8

**An answer to someone's question: Well, as this story's focused on the trio (Yoh, Anna and Hao), of course Hao will play a very big role here. Don't worry guys, only a few more chapters and it will be Hao and Anna's turn. =)**

**Okay... This chapter's a little short, it's just the continuation of the chapter before. More supports please... =)**

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CHAPTER 8.  
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Anna and Yoh stood focused. They were both concentrating, both holding the necklace.

"Release the power inside this necklace like the way you did the last time." Yoh whispered.

"I-I don't know if I could..."

"You have to," Yoh insisted. "I have to find out."

Even though Anna wants to ask him so many questions, she thought she won't find out unless she does what he says. So Anna closed her eyes, concentrating deeply. Yes, the power from before was arising from the necklace. There was a bright light forming in between them. Anna was successfully 'summoning spirits'.

But unexpectedly, the light was forming an image... An image of a person which shocked Anna so much that she almost fainted...

Asakura Hao's image.

In surprise, Anna suddenly dropped the necklace. Her hands become numb, and she froze in shock. Yoh, however was staring at the necklace.

"I knew it," Yoh curiously examined it. "That's the aura from before."

Anna looked at him in wonder.

"You remember the first time we met Hao, when he told me to get stronger? Hao's aura was too powerful to be unnoticed, so when I felt this necklace's aura, I felt Hao's."

"Are you saying 1080 beads have Hao's power?"

"I don't know, that's why I want to make sure. But everything's still unclear to me..." Yoh began to lie down the floor and yawned. "Nah! I'll just find out tomorrow!" And there, he suddenly snored.

"W-wha-?" Anna gets irritated as she witnessed Yoh slept inside her room... While _still _having their conversation. "YOH!" She slapped him with a pillow.

"Aw!" That hurts! Yoh's face became red. He got up, rubbing it. "Anna... Don't be rude... Someone's sleeping..."

"Yeah, someone's sleeping in a girl's bedroom! Get out of here, moron!" And she slapped him again... This time a few more times.

Enough with this, Yoh blocked one of her hits. She grabbed Anna's wrist, which caused her to drop the pillow. Anna was surprised with this. Behind her wrist, a smiling Yoh was seen.

"Heheh, you're cute when you act childish..." Yoh grinned.

This made Anna blush but has this demonic face. She was _angry_. "Get the hell...!" And thus she kicked him. Her infamous 'demonic kick'.

Anna's kick cause Yoh to tumble backwards and bumped at the wall. Now _that _seem to really hurt. Still, Yoh continued to smile. "Hahah, you're fine, all right."

Anna was panting with anger. This is strange... Yoh doesn't seem to be that scared of her anymore, even if he received a hundred punishments. Or is it she whose feelings were lighter than before?

Enough of this, Anna turned her back on Yoh and lied down, covering her head with blankets. "Just get out of here. I'm going to sleep. Good night."

After moment of silence, Yoh smiled sweetly from behind Anna. "Good night."

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**I hope you liked it guys!**

**Chapter 9 in progress...  
**


	10. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9.**

It was morning already. As usual, the sun is shining pass through Anna's window, shining on her face. She mostly wakes up due to that... Just like now. She sat up, and sighed as she stared at the window, knowing this is another day to start with again.

As Anna stretched her arms and stands up, her hand felt something just below her sheets. A hand of a person. Her eyes widened, surprised that a person was lying below her sheets. She began to panic and pulled over her blankets, and to her surprise, she saw Yoh whose body was scattered on the floor, sleeping soundly.

What the? Why is Yoh sleeping here? She glanced over the table, and saw the tray together with the 1080 beaded-necklace. Wait a minute... She tried to recall what happened last night...

Oh yes, she and Yoh were experimenting the newfound power with her necklace, where during the process she saw Hao's image. Then a little pillow fight occurred, and she goes to sleep, not even minding what Yoh's going to do next. That's all what she remembered.

W-wait, does that mean Yoh never went outside after that, but instead went to sleep... with _her_? H-hey, he wouldn't have _destroyed_ her virginity, would he? No. Anna shook her head. The hell Yoh would do that. Still, Anna blushed just by thinking about it, but humiliation covered her body. She picked two pillows and angrily slapped Yoh's face in between.

"Hey!" Yoh hardly breathes, seeing his face was 'sandwiched' with the pillows. As he was back with his senses, Anna removed the pillows, but still with the usual angry expression.

"A-Anna..." Yoh rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I think you're being rude, don't you see someone's sleeping here..."

"Why wouldn't I be rude? A boy was sleeping together with a girl in her room without even her permission! What the hell was that, Yoh?"

Yoh opened his eyes in shock. He looked around the room, and that's when he just realized that he slept in Anna's room. He gulped. "I... Anna..."

"Well? You're still going to sit in there? Don't you have any plans of going out, or do you prefer to get punished by me instead?"

"W-Waaah!" Seeing Anna has a belt ready (wherever she got that), Yoh quickly crawled out of the room and ran away, screaming like mad.

However, ball-sized Amidamaru suddenly passed by Anna's doorway, and saw Yoh scurrying downstairs. "Ah, wait, Yoh-dono..."

"YOH!" Amidamaru heard Anna from her room again, and when he looked, the tray from last night went flying towards him and was slammed on his face. "You forgot that!"

Amidamaru then slumped on the wall, and fell unconscious.

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Meanwhile, downstairs, Yoh went outside on their frontyard, panting. He, too, doesn't understand why he chose to sleep in Anna's room. Anna seemed to take it so hard, and must be thinking about something else.

Moments later, Manta came walking from outside the gate. He saw Yoh lying on the ground with his tongue out, panting. He thought Anna must be the cause of this again.

"Good morning, Yoh-kun," Manta waved his hand towards the breathing Yoh.

"Ah... Manta... Good morning..."

"Was this Anna-san's doing again?" Manta sighed. He helped Yoh get up, and when he was partly recovered, his stomach began to growl.

"Ah, I'm hungry." Yoh giggled. "Will you cook breakfast, Manta? I'm sure Anna will be asking you later, too."

Manta suddenly sweat-dropped and smiled sarcastically. "I knew it... Why did I get here, anyway?"

As Manta was going inside, the front door slid open, and there was Anna. Yoh and Manta were very surprised that they almost fell on the ground.

"Before you eat breakfast, Yoh, I want you to go jogging." Anna's eyes glistened again and the same time glared towards the both of them. "This'll be your early training at the start of the day... Jog around town, 50 laps."

"WHAT?" Yoh screamed. "But... Aren't we going to my grandparents' today?"

"Of course, later on." Anna went inside. "Now hurry, or the time'll be wasted. GO!"

On the very instant of Anna's signal, Yoh scurried away, ran as fast as he could, starting his 50-lap run.

On the meantime, Manta was just watching from the house, trying to cheer Yoh as quietly as he could... But Anna must've another planned for him.

"Manta." This voice gave Manta goosebumps. "Go cook breakfast right now and the next time Yoh passes here, you'll go follow him to make sure he won't slack off somewhere."

"Y-yes!" Manta just sighed, ashamed of himself that this is what he can only do... May be for the rest of his life. Tsk, poor Manta.

An hour later, after several rounds of cooking, Anna was finally satisfied with it. Manta was improving. Instead of the usual 20+ rounds, he is finishing to ten.

"What kind of improvement was that?" Manta just sighed. Yeah, ten rounds is still too many.

He walked towards the front door and put on his shoes. Just a little more time, Yoh will pass here any second now...

"Yoh's here," Anna stated from inside. Manta just looked at her curiously, thinking: how would she know if Yoh-kun's here? She's inside, she can barely see the gate...

"Ei, Manta!" Was that Yoh's voice all of a sudden? Manta hurried towards the gate, and saw an energetic Yoh jogging in his place. "Are you finished with breakfast?"

"EEH?" Manta turned his head to Yoh, then at the house, then Yoh, then at the house... Wondering how the hell did Anna knew?

"What's wrong?"

"A-Anna-san knew you were here already, but she's inside and can barely see the gate..."

"Oohh..."

"What do you mean by 'oohh'? Aren't you surprised?"

"Oh, should I be?"

Manta just sighed. Yoh was back to his innocent-childlike state. "Forget it. Anna-san said I'm going with your jogging to make sure you won't slack off."

Yoh giggled. "Okay, it's nice to have company anyways." Suddenly, his stomach growled... Like a roar of a lion? "Oops, that's pretty loud... I bet I'm hungry."

"Of course you are! You still aren't eating since then! You should go inside and eat first..."

"No," Anna suddenly appeared just behind them, which made Manta fell down in surprise. "You still have 40 laps left. Finish that and you'll be able to eat."

"But Anna-san!"

"Don't you start, Manta. Now go if you don't want me to add 20 more laps."

And before she knew it, Manta and Yoh have disappeared. She peeked on the right side of the street, and there she saw the two scampering like rats. They probably don't want 20 more laps.

Anna sighed, but later on smiled. She's glad Yoh's back in his usual self ever since that incident. As she returned back inside to resume her meal, she took notice of Amidamaru being -again-held hostage. He was sobbing while the 1080 beads was gripping him tight.

"A-Anna-dono..."

"You'll stay there until Yoh finishes his morning training."

Amidamaru sobbed more.

* * *

Already in his 35th lap, Yoh was still energetic running. Manta was on his little bicycle, and he keeps staring at Yoh. He seems to be more energetic than before. What could've possibly change his attitude?

"Hey, Yoh-kun..."

"Hmm?"

"Last night, after we finished making Anna-san's dinner... Where were you that time? I went to your room to say goodbye, but you aren't there... Where did you go?"

"Huh? I didn't go anywhere... I'm at Anna's room."

"Yeah, I know you brought her the food... But where did you go after that?"

"I'm telling you I didn't go anywhere... I stayed at Anna's room."

"Yeah, I know you..." Manta's eyes suddenly widened. "WHAT? You stayed at Anna-san's room? Are you saying you slept there?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"My god..." Manta's jaws dropped in shock. "What were you thinking? You and Anna-san slept together? I couldn't believe she agreed with it!"

"I didn't ask her permission... I slept after she did."

"WHAT? Is that the reason why you're panting earlier? Did Anna-san threw you away?"

"Yeah, probably the reason..." Yoh glared at Manta. "You keep asking too many questions, Manta..."

"Sorry, sorry," Manta sweat-dropped. Then he looked at the sky. "You know, Yoh-kun, the way you reacted on that incident with the Sumeriya spirit... It's another thing I didn't know about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I never knew you would be _that _angry when Anna-san's in danger... I've never seen that part of you yet, and it made me idolize you more."

"Ah, is that so?" Yoh smiled. "The fact that Anna gets in danger makes me shiver so much, since Anna was _never_ been in danger before."

Yoh and Manta laughed. Manta looked at the sky again. "Yoh-kun, may I ask one last thing?"

"Sure."

"Do you really love Anna-san?"

Yoh suddenly looked at Manta, who was serious with this question. Yoh just closed his eyes and smiled... And then looked at the sky.

"Well... Who knows."

* * *

**A sneak peak for the next chapter! Finally Hao's gonna make an appearance! =P**

**Chapter 10 already on its way...  
**


	11. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

On the other hand, somewhere in a random forest, Hao along with Opacho were still on their rock-seat, in front of a campfire. Hao must be waiting for something... Or someone.

And then in the midst of nowhere, a shattered-like old man came running towards them, breathing heavily. It's like he ran over a hundred kilometer marathon.

"H-Hao-sama..." The old man panted.

Hao just smiled, but this wasn't a joyful smile... More like a disappointed one.

"You failed, you and your Sumeriya." Hao just sighed. He began to wonder why his companions were _this_ weak. "What do you expect me to do with you?"

"H-Hao-sama! Please forgive me... Please, give me another chance... I will prove myself this time to you. Let me go to his house again and kill Asakura Yoh!"

Hao's gentle smile suddenly turned to anger. "I don't want you to kill Yoh..." His face gets redder and his hair slowly rise up. "I want you to test his strength! He's right of you... You're one retarded Shaman!"

The man, fearing he might get killed by Hao, kneeled down and cried. "I'm sorry! I don't intend to! Please, spare me, Hao-sama! I will not let you down again!"

Hao's anger slowly reduced, and his hair was now going down. Then he smiled again. "Don't underestimate Yoh. He's stronger than you think he is. When you two fought, he just actually took easy on you."

"But...!" The man rose up. "Would you tell me, Hao-sama? The way that kid disappeared and reappeared in the midst of our fight? Does a shaman have an ability to do that?"

Hao smiled again. "That was the sign of the new power he's inheriting now."

"New power?"

"As expected from Anna the Itako... She was indeed perfect to be the Asakura's wife... To be _my _wife."

"Hao-sama," Opacho suddenly blurted in. "Is this what Hao-sama's saying a few days ago? That Hao-sama's brother will have a new power from his fiancee?"

"That's right." Hao grinned. "So if the both of them mastered that power, Yoh will be as powerful as me." Hao turned to the man. "So I'm advicing you not to anger him so much, because if you do, you're dead."

The man started to compare Yoh and Hao in his head. That's right, Yoh looked like Hao physically. And then their twin-brother relationship is starting to arise. He fears that Yoh might be as violent as Hao, so he should finish him soon. This is getting troublesome.

"Well, all right, I'll give you another chance." Hao waved his hand and in an instant, a new rope was formed, a much powerful one. The man has his medium make-overed. "Summon Sumeriya in this rope, and he shall come."

The man was delighted. So he didn't lose Sumeriya after all. He got the rope and yelled, "Sumeriya!" Not a second longer, the spirit responded and arisen from his back. "Sumeriya in rope! Oversoul!" The rope hardens once again, and the spirit was inside it.

"Thank you, thank you, Hao-sama! I swear I will never let you down!"

"Don't convince me in words. I want you to prove it."

The man nodded, and he ran away. Hao watched him as he disappeared.

"Hao-sama, the spirit wasn't as powerful as it was before." Opacho said. "It won't be long that he will be defeated. Why did you do such thing?"

Hao smiled. "He's no in use for me anymore. At the very start he was already weak. But I can see great potential in him, so I accepted him. But he was overcame with pride that's why he was defeated. If he continued it, he will be dead for sure."

"But will Hao-sama's brother kill him?"

"Who knows," Hao sat down in the rocks again. "Well, we all know Yoh. He will never kill anyone. So if he won't kill him, I will do it myself."

Hao's laughter then echoed at the forest.

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**Um... Did I just messed with Hao in this chapter? Well... =P Just hope you'll enjoy!**

**Chapter 11 in progress...  
**


	12. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

After a pleasant breakfast, Anna lied down on her usual position whenever watching TV. She gets hold of the remote control and switched on the TV. There, the show is another movie of Pailong's.

Amidamaru, on the other hand, was behind her. He was delighted to see another movie of the famous Li Pailong, Tao Jun's current kyonshi. He remembers the time he and Yoh saved him from Jun's control over him. Sigh, such memories.

Suddenly, strong wind blew towards the house. It's so strong that it even reached inside. Then an aura appeared... A familiar one. Anna got up and walked towards the door, with a warning from Amidamaru.

"D-Don't, Anna-dono! This feeling... This is...!"

"I know." And without hesitation, Anna slid the door open. She was right... It's the annoying old man again.

"Anna-dono!" Amidamaru was able to get free from Anna's necklace and hurriedly shielded her. "We must wait for Yoh-dono to arrive before I fight!"

"Hahaha!" The man smashed his rope around the garden, constantly hitting potted plants. "I'm more powerful now! I have come for revenge to that kid... I'm going to kill him now! Where is he? Show Asakura Yoh to me!"

Amidamaru, still with his hands wide enough to cover Anna, just sighed. "He's not here."

"Ah, so you've gotten coward now? You must've expected my _master _will make me more powerful that's why you got afraid! Don't worry, I'll get easy on your master. Now show him to me!"

"Are you deaf? Didn't we say Yoh's not here?" Anna crossed her arms again.

"Watch it out, young lady. Or do you want to taste the wrath of my new power?"

"You're still weak." Anna glared. "And not to mention, weaker than before. I'm just amazed because you were still able to gather so much pride."

"W-what? Are you insulting me? Are you saying I'm just all words?"

"That's right."

The man was gritting his teeth with anger. He drew his rope once again, and called, "Sumeriya!" Thus the spirit responded. Before merging the spirit into his rope, he snorted and grinned. "Hmph, I don't know why my _master _liked you, but I guess I have no choice. Fine, if you won't show Asakura Yoh, I will just take you instead!"

Amidamaru is in offense position. "What? What do you mean?"

"My _master _loved to have this young lady to be his bride... So I'm going to grant his wish. He will be very happy to bring you as a gift then."

Anna's eyebrows twitched. "I don't know who sent you, but tell your master that I'm already engaged. Yoh's my fiancee, and he will be Shaman King."

The man just laughed. "You're saying that Asakura Yoh will be the Shaman King? Are you people out of your mind? It's my _master _who's going to be Shaman King, not him! You know what? You should leave this place and go with my _master_. I'm 100% sure you'll be the wife of the Shaman King."

"Wife?" Anna seems interested.

"A-Anna-dono!" Seeing Anna interested, Amidamaru was now worried. Is this all? After all the training that Yoh suffered from her, Anna's going to leave with some weak man with a master claiming he'll be the Shaman King? It's just... so pathetic! "Y-You're not saying...?"

Anna glared at Amidamaru. "What are you thinking? You think I'm going with that crazy old man? My loyalty remains to the Asakura family... To Yoh. I'm not stupid to accept some bastard's proposal."

The man's eyes widened. "Are you saying you're rejecting my _master_?"

"I already told you I have Yoh."

"Fine then," the man drew his weapon out, and merged his spirit inside. "Maybe I'm just going to force you to come with me. Sumeriya in Rope! Oversoul!"

"Anna-dono, please stay behind," Amidamaru brings out his sword. "I won't let you get harmed."

"You're just a spirit, you can't touch him," Anna just sighed as Amidamaru realized it. "Unless... You use my power."

Wondering what she meant, Amidamaru saw Anna gripped on her necklace, and concentrated really hard. Huge amount of power arises from the necklace and went directly towards Amidamaru.

"You go, Amidamaru!" Anna smashed the necklace unto him, and then he became very powerful once again.

Suddenly the man started to attack. His hardened rope grew thorns again, and he swings it towards Amidamaru... But just like before... Amidamaru began to disappear.

"Wha-? Again?" The man looked around in search for the missing spirit, and keeps his body alert of any movements. But Amidamaru is nowhere in sight. He then saw Anna smiled.

Suddenly, Amidamaru was found behind him, and placed his katana around the man's neck, threatening to kill him.

"Go away, if you don't want to get killed early!" The man was shaking his head, insisting he won't go, so Amidamaru gets the katana closer in his neck. "I'm warning you!"

"Enough." Anna brought her hand out in signal of halt. "Don't kill him."

"But Anna-dono! This man's a bad person! We have confronted him once, so now he won't get away with it now!"

Seeing Amidamaru was bothered, the man took advantage of escaping from his katana. He swung his rope over Amidamaru, which wounded him slightly. Amidamaru was surprised though, since he cannot believe something from reality can actually touch him.

"Hahaha! You should listen to her." The man hurriedly distance himself from Amidamaru, laughing like mad. "You shouldn't kill me! Or else you'll regret it!"

"You're not worth regretting!" Amidamaru, instead of killing the man instantly, he just released full force and blowed the man away.

Due to that huge blow, the man and his spirit was sent flying out of the Asakura house, until it was nowhere to be seen. Amidamaru was very surprised of the just attack he made.

"D-Did I just do that?"

Anna sighed again sarcastically as she prepared to go inside.

"Listen, Amidamaru... Even you're bound to kill evil people, you shouldn't... Even how much bad they are. We can say because you are Yoh's spirit... And Yoh doesn't want to kill even the most evil ones. You should know that by now. It's because it wasn't how things work out for Yoh."

Amidamaru keeps silent. He looked at his hands, the hands which used to kill so many evil people in his time... And to think he agreed himself to be a companion of the one who doesn't even intend to kill... He thought, is he even suited to be Yoh's main spirit?

"You don't have to worry about it to much though." Anna stated. "Yoh chose you to become his main spirit, and it was agreed by the both of you. There's nothing you can do about it. Yoh's decisions are always being followed and always turn out to be right, so the decision of choosing you isn't a mistake. All you have to do is to get along well with him."

Anna smiled. Amidamaru can now feel the care of his two masters. He understood Anna's statements about him and Yoh, and they are indeed suited for each other. He gets teary-eyed by this.

"Oh, and one more thing," Anna placed both of her hands on her waist and turned to Amidamaru. "Don't ever tell Yoh about what just happened."

"W-What? Why...?"

"I don't want him to worry again. If he finds out about this he will act very different again, and I don't want it to be like that. Going to America for the Shaman Fight is only two weeks away, so try to prevent from saying such things to him."

Amidamaru continued to stare at Anna. He was confused of what to do. As a spirit, it is his duty to report anything and be alert for his master. But then, his mistress was telling the opposite. What should he do?

Anna sees Amidamaru unaware of what to do. She glared... Her death glare... And that made Amidamaru shiver from head to toe.

"Y-yes, Anna-dono! Absolutely!" Well, what can he do?

Anna just nodded, and she went inside. Amidamaru was left alone, and just sighed with confusion.

* * *

**Hope you guys like it! More chapters to come...**

**Chapter 12 in progress...  
**


	13. Chapter 12

**It'll be a few more chapters before Hao and Anna's scenes, okay? Sorry if I'm making it longer, but everything will fit until the end. =)**

**Well, I ought of placing another familiar character in the story! Hope you like it!**

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CHAPTER 12  
**

Just after a few minutes, Anna sensed Yoh and Manta arriving. She kept her cool, on her usual position when watching TV. She pretends nothing happened, and so does Amidamaru... But Amidamaru seemed to be very uneasy.

"We're home!" Manta came calling from outside the gate.

Amidamaru appeared in front of them, and tried his best to pretend that nothing ever happened. "W-welcome home, Yoh-dono, Manta-dono."

Yoh was panting, full of sweat... But surprisingly, he was still smiling. He was clutching on his stomach, which was sounding like roars of lions' herd.

"I'm hungry..." Yoh suddenly collapsed on the ground, then Manta and Amidamaru became surprised that they kept screaming Yoh's name.

Anna opened the door from inside, in her usual expression. "You're noisy! Keep it down!"

"But Anna-san! Yoh-kun's unconscious! He's going to die of hunger!" Manta grabbed a fan from nowhere and comforted Yoh with it.

"Then why won't he get inside and eat? His 50 lap-run is finished. It's very well-understood."

Manta just sweat-dropped again, who just forgot about Anna's _nastier_ attitude.

* * *

"Aaahh! I'm full!" A stuffed Yoh sighed with satisfaction. His stomach was like Horo Horo's when full. It's like he hasn't eaten for weeks! Amidamaru and Manta just smiled with relief that Yoh's at least alive again.

"I bet it's really good to eat after almost three hours of running, isn't it?" Manta asked.

"Are you kidding? It's great!" Yoh gulped a bottle of water. "That Anna... How long does she really want me to suffer like this?"

Hearing the name 'Anna', Amidamaru's eyes suddenly widened and he slightly shivered. Yoh noticed this.

"What's wrong Amidamaru?" Yoh asked and Amidamaru began to sweat. Yoh can really tell he is feeling uneasy. "Amidamaru...?"

"Uhh! Nothing, this is nothing, Yoh-dono! Eh-heh..." Amidamaru gulped, clutching his fists. He wasn't really used of keeping a secret from Yoh, just because he was told by Anna. But then... This is for Yoh's sake, so he must do this.

"Are you sure...?"

"Yes!" Amidamaru turned his sweating face away from Yoh, and began to think... _I'm sorry, Yoh-dono!_

"Are you sure, Amidamaru? You look really scared." Manta popped out from behind Amidamaru.

"M-M-Manta-dono, what makes you think t-that? M-Me? I'm not scared!" Amidamaru laughed forcefully, trying to convince Yoh nothing's wrong.

And that seems to _really _convince Yoh.

"Oh, okay! If that's what you say!" Yoh just grinned and chuckled.

Both Amidamaru and Manta sighed. Amidamaru with relief, Manta with sarcasm.

"Nah... I don't think he's really okay."

Somebody just talked. It was neither any of them, nor Anna... But Yoh have a feeling who it is. Suddenly a noisy sipping of water alerted the three. Manta looked beside him and there he saw...

"Horo Horo!" Manta fell down on his knees. "What the! What the hell are you doing here?"

Ignoring Manta, Horo Horo just crossed his arms and delivered this serious expression. "Tell me, Samurai Spirit Amidamaru! Are you or are you not guilty?"

Amidamaru and Yoh just stared at him. "What do you mean...?"

"Don't answer me back!" He has his skateboard Oversouled with Kororo, and hurriedly transformed it as a giant mallet, his 'Nipopo Punch' weapon. Then he smashed the mallet on the dining table, resulting to breaking everything on it. "I am asking you if you're telling the truth!"

Manta just smiled sarcastically. _He's pretending to be a court judge..._

Horo Horo continued. "According to your actions, you seem to be feeling very uneasy. Have you been into a crime and you have something to do with it?"

"I... I...!"

"I am right! Then tell me, are you or are you not guilty?"

"N-No, I'm..."

"Aha! You're saying you're not? Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes! I mean, n-no, that's not..."

"Then you're lying! You're not respecting the judge!" Another thunderous smash was heard. This time a tiny earthquake occured around the room.

Yoh stretched out his arm trying to stop him. "Uhh... Horo Horo! I'm thinking you should stop that..."

"Nonsense! A witness should not interfere with the judge!"

Yoh sweat dropped. "I-I'm sorry, Your Honor... But really, I think you should stop that..."

"You're speaking out of order! Stop interfering with the interrogation!"

"Horo Horo...!"

"I said-"

"SHUT UP!" Anna suddenly arrived, making everyone fall down in shock. She has a mallet of hers ready, and violently smashed Horo Horo out of the house. "You're going to pay for everything you broke here! Damn it!"

Yoh, Manta and Amidamaru's jaws dropped, eyes open _wide._

_

* * *

_**Haha, hope you guys enjoyed. I really tried my best on making this chapter funny. =P**

**Reviews please!**

**Chapter 13 in progress...  
**


	14. Chapter 13

**Wee! Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. I hope you'll do the same in this one as well!**

**

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**CHAPTER 13  
**

"You'll be paying for everything you destroyed, damn it!" Anna yelled as she smashed a giant mallet towards Horo Horo which sent him flying away.

Where did she get that mallet?

Yoh, Amidamaru and Manta's jaws dropped to their feet. Tsk, poor Horo Horo. Yoh has warned him already.

Suddenly Anna turned to the three. "And why are you guys sitting there? Yoh, hurry up and pack! We're going to your grandparents' house already."

Anna stomped away, and she doesn't seem to be in a very good mood. Better not to make it worse.

Yoh stood up and brushed the dirt on his shorts. "Well, I should be going to pack now. It'll be bad if I don't obey her..."

"W-wait, Yoh-kun," Manta stands up too. "May I go with you?"

Yoh and Amidamaru just stared at him.

"It's on Izumo, right? I already went there along with Ryu-san! Remember? When you entered the Yomi's Hole? We waited for you to come out! Please let me go with you... I want to learn more about you!" Manta insisted.

Yoh continued to stare. Then he grinned. "Why not? I'm going to convince Anna though. You may help with the chores there then!"

Manta sighed with sarcasm, but he smiled. "I don't care if you make me your household maid there. As long as I can go with you there to your grandparents' house!"

"WHAT? You're going to your grandparents' house?"

Manta fell again on his knees when he saw someone that looked like harrassed beside him. It was Horo Horo again.

"Woah, that's fast, Horo Horo!" Yoh placed his hands on his forehead and looked outside. Considering Horo Horo was smashed very far away, he was able to return just like that? But indeed, he looks harrassed.

"Of course it's gonna be fast since I used my Oversoul!" Horo Horo panted. He has thorns of bush all over his body, and he's dripping wet. He seemed to fall towards a lake then, so he has plenty of seaweeds.

Yoh and Manta clapped their hands in amazement.

Suddenly Horo Horo's harrassed look suddenly disappeared, and he was now glittering. "But wait, Yoh! You said you're going to go to your grandparents' house?"

"Yeah."

"But why?"

"Anna said she's going to consult something to my grandparents, and she's bringing me there to train."

"But why?"

"For the Shaman Fight in America."

"But why?"

"To become Shaman King."

"But why?"

Yoh thinks for an answer. "To give Anna an easy life...?"

"But why?"

"Uhh..." Yoh continues to think.

However, Manta was already boiling in irritation. "ENOUGH! What kind of conversation is this?"

"Y-Yoh-dono, shouldn't you get packing? If Anna-dono finds this out again, it'll be bad." Amidamaru sweat-dropped.

"Oh yeah!" Yoh hurriedly went towards the door.

"Wait, Yoh! I want to come with you!" Horo Horo follows Yoh in fast speed, which made him to stumble along with Yoh in the corridor.

But something made them shocked more. Anna was standing beside them, in flames. Her mallet appeared again from nowhere and she began to smash Horo Horo outside the house again, this time farther than earlier.

"Don't you dare to come back again!" Anna turned to Yoh and stepped over his butt. "Hurry up, jerk!"

Anna left Yoh in tears. Anna's sandal marked on Yoh's butt, so that must've really hurt. Manta and Amidamaru just sighed and sweat-dropped.

* * *

Meanwhile, Horo Horo was at a forest, this time he was hanging in the trees. He was about to use his Oversoul to make a safe landing, but he guessed it doesn't matter, since he was saved by the hanging vines.

But still... That Anna was going too far. She never even thought if he's going to die in those smashes. But he just sighed, thinking he can't do anything against that girl.

Suddenly, something was moving in the bushes. Rustles of leaves were heard, and that doesn't seem to be ordinary. Horo Horo made a quick movement to hide among those branches, glancing what or _who _might that be. Someone's in here... He's not alone.

Then a wide range of footsteps were heard, approaching his place. Horo Horo clutched on his snowboard, ready to use his Oversoul just in case he might get into fight. _Come out, come out..._

Suddenly, a shadow of a big person catches Horo Horo's eyes. It was walking indistinctively, shoving the bushes that comes in its way. The figure seems familiar though. When it's gotten clear, Horo Horo sighed with relief to see someone he knows.

"Ryu!" Horo Horo hurriedly climbed down the tree, and there he saw Bokuto no Ryu shoving the bushes around him with his wooden sword. "Hey there, it's nice to see you!"

"Horo Horo?" Ryu brushed his Elvis-like hairdo and smiled. "What the 'ell are ye doing up 'ere?"

"Well... How can I say this? I went to Yoh's, and then Miss 'I-Know-It-All' smashed me away with a mallet wherever she got it. Then I ended up here."

"Miss 'I-Know-It-All'?"

"Anna."

"Oohh! Anna-okami? I missed her, ye know! C'mon, let's go back 'ere!"

"Oh no, I'm not going back. I've been smashed away twice."

"But it's been a long time since I haven't seen her. Even Master Yoh, Master Amidamaru and Manta!"

Horo Horo crossed his arms and sighed. "It's because you're busy hanging out with your friends in your 'Best Place'."

"That's not our 'Best Place', that's just a temporary hang out."

"Whatever. Anyways, I'm going home now. Pirika is waiting for me." Horo Horo picked up his snowboard and slowly walked away.

"Ye sure ye don't wanna go back?"

"Nah, I've had enough. You shouldn't go too, Yoh and company will be going vacation today."

Ryu suddenly stopped when he heard it. Then he hurriedly approached Horo Horo and snuckle him down. "What did ye say? Master Yoh will be going on a vacation?" Horo Horo nodded. "Where?"

"What do you care? Don't tell me you're following them!"

"Of course! I can't let 'em have fun while the two of us were busy training! We'll be going wit'em!"

"H-Huh? But Yoh's going to train there too!"

"So what? At least we're gonna train together!" Ryu pulled Horo Horo back to Yoh's place. "Ohh, this is gonna be exciting!"

"W-wait! I still haven't told Pirika yet..."

"Send her a letter! It'll be okay since ye're going to train with Master Yoh. Let's get Ren going too."

"Wha-? Even that Chinese Brat?"

"It'll be more fun. Now c'mon, stop struggling. We're off to...!" Suddenly Ryu stopped, which made Horo Horo bump at him.

"Now what?"

Ryu turned to him, clueless. "Where are we going...?"

"Ugh!" Horo Horo slapped his forehead. "He told me he's going to a Izumo place, wherever it is..."

"Izumo? Did you say Izumo?" Ryu thought of it. "Wait a minute, I remember going in there before! That's where Master Yoh once lived! And there's where I met Tamao-chan! And I remember there's where I met Mikihisa-sama, Master Yoh's daddy who taught me how to become a Shaman! And then..."

"Okay, okay fine! I don't care about your past! Now you've been there, you should've know how to go there, right?"

Ryu froze, and then smirked at him. "I... I forgot where it is."

The both of them were unable to move. Horo Horo's eye was twitching. He can't believe of Ryu's...well... stupidity.

"WHAT?"

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**That's all folks! Reviews please!**

**Chapter 14 in progress...  
**


	15. Chapter 14

**Thanks so much for your reviews. Anyways, this chapter isn't as funny as the previous ones, but still... Hope you like it! And additional: the gang's appearances will be a few chapters after. =D**

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**CHAPTER 14**

"How much farther, Yoh-kun?" Manta panted, clinging behind Yoh. It was already three hours, and they're walking on the way to Yoh's place after taking a train.

"We're almost there," Yoh smiled. "Hang on, Manta."

Yoh doesn't seem to feel any fatigue, neither did Anna. They must be really used to this. Manta kept idolizing Yoh much more, seeing that he must be really rich to be well-known and great, but Yoh was being treated like a simple part of the family. Still, he doesn't object in any of this.

Suddenly a familiar sight came to Manta's attention, and there he saw Asakura's mansion once again. His jaws dropped, forgetting how big it is.

"Ah, Yoh-sama, Anna-sama!" Tamamura Tamao came running towards them, and quickly holds Yoh's hands. "It's been very long! I knew you would come!"

"You do?" Manta wonders.

"Ah yes, I've seen it in the Kokkuri Board. It says Yoh-sama and Anna-sama will come." Tamao blushed.

Yoh grinned. "As expected of Tamao. I really meant to surprise you and grandpa."

"Ohh, I'm so sorry!" Tamao cupped her mouth with her shivering hands, and becomes redder. "I didn't mean to...!"

Yoh sweat-dropped. "I-It's no big deal really. No need to get shy..."

"Come on." Anna's eyebrows twitched and she pulled Yoh by the ears. She had enough of Yoh and Tamao. "Where's grandfather?"

"Uh, I've told him about your arrival, so he's in his room with Kino-sama..."

The three left, leaving Tamao still blushing. Her joy suddenly turned to depression. She slowly watched Yoh get dragged away by Anna, and she thought... She never and _will _never have a chance for Yoh.

As Yoh, Anna and Manta arrived in front of Asakura Yohmei's room, Anna slid the door open with no hesitation. And there inside, sat Yohmei and Kino.

"Grandfather, grandmother." Anna bowed lightly, and the two seniors responded.

"Yoh." Yohmei called roughly to Yoh, in which Yoh responds by scratching his head childlikely. Yohmei's eyebrows twitched. "I thought after entering Yomi's Hole your personality overall changed. But I guess I'm wrong."

Asakura Kino leaned on her cane. "Come on, we both know Yoh will never change."

Yohmei snorted. "Hmph." Then he turned to Anna. "So what makes you come all the way here? Itako no Anna?"

"I have something to consult you." She brought the 1080 beads and handed it over to Yohmei. "I've had a new power, and the 1080 beads caused it."

"New power, eh?" Yohmei analyzed the very long necklace. "I don't see or feel anything strange."

"You illiterate hippogriff!" Kino exclaimed as she smashed Yohmei's face with her cane. "You have no idea of being an Itako. I certainly feel something strong within both the necklace and my appentrice."

Anna's eyes widened. She was curious of this 'strong sensation' felt by her master.

"Come, Anna, we're going to do an experiment." Kino put her arms together in form of prayer, with the necklace surrounding her.

Yoh and Manta watch attentively, in which Yohmei notices.

"Yoh!" He called. "Go outside and train, you have no business here."

"I haven't?"

"This is Itakos' business, and you are a Shaman. And a Shaman like you has to train."

Yoh sighed, and along with Manta, he slowly gets outside.

"What, aren't you a Shaman too?" Kino turns to Yohmei, in which Yohmei sweat-dropped. He just realized it too. "Get out of here!" Another smash of cane in Yohmei's face, and he hurried outside.

"Wow, your grandmother acts like Anna-san." Manta sweat-dropped. "Scary."

Yoh can't help but sigh. "I know, right?"

"Ah, Yoh." Yohmei suddenly grabbed Yoh's arm, and stared at him. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it, grandpa?"

"Your grandmother and I have talked about it, and we agreed with it. You have no choice as well."

"Of what?"

"You and Itako no Anna were already betrothed. Therefore we decided that we're going to arrange the ceremony of your marriage this week."

Yoh and Manta's eyes popped out. "WHAT?"

"It's not your very marriage yet, but a ceremony before your marriage. The Asakura family have been doing it for years, that a ceremony will be held in regards to your betrothal. Tomorrow will be a good time for it."

Yoh grabbed his head. "B-But grandpa! I don't think it's already time for that! I mean, there's still the Shaman Fight ongoing, and we're still young to get married soon... Why do you suddenly thought of arranging a ceremony?"

"We have a reason of course! But we will tell you after the ceremony. It's not going to affect the Shaman Fight, so you don't have to worry about it. And you're not going to get married soon, it's just a ceremony!"

"But grandpa! Do you think Anna will agree with it?"

"She have no reason to go against me and her master's orders... And neither do you. It's already settled. Stop whining like a kid." Yohmei placed his hands on his back and walked away.

"W-wait, grandpa! I..."

"Enough! We have already decided of this. No harm will be done, so stop worrying yourself about it! Now go and train if you don't want either Kino or Anna punish you."

Yohmei left Yoh and Manta's jaws dropped. They still can't believe of the news. It's not yet the official marriage, yes, but Yoh felt like it is. He remembers his mother kept telling stories of the ways of betrothal and marriage of the Asakuras, and how she and Mikihisa were married. He cannot believe that it's his turn already.

"What do you do now, Yoh-kun?" Manta asked.

Yoh just sighed, but he smiled then. "Guess I have no choice. It doesn't really bother me, I knew this would come then. It's just so... Unexpected."

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**Chapter 15 in progress...**

**Another of Hao's appearance...  
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	16. Chapter 15

**Thanks everyone... Well, I give you guys my gratitude. ^^**

**This chapter is sorta Hao's, and it's a little short... But I hope you'll still bother to read it... =)**

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CHAPTER 15  
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Once again, in the midst of wilderness, there sat Hao and Opacho along with their three companions, Kanna Bismarch, Matilda Matisse, and Marion Phauna. In front of them was the annoying old man with the Sumeriya spirit.

"H-Hao-sama..." The old man panted, kneeling in front of Hao, begging for forgiveness. "I was about to do it... I swear! It's just because of that girl I lost! She has a new power which is able to manipulate the spirit!"

Hao just closed his eyes.

"Hao-sama, please spare my life! I will remain to gain more power and I will bring both Asakura Yoh and his fiancee to you!"

Hao's eyes suddenly opened wide, and turned to the old man. "You tried to bring Anna to me?"

"Y-yes, that way you would be happy! But I wasn't successful, so..."

"Of course you won't be successful! Who said you could stand a chance against her? She is the source of Yoh and his spirit's new power, and you dare to underestimate her? You're really out of your mind." Hao sighed.

The old man just stared at Hao, unaware of what to say anymore.

"I am planning to claim Anna when the right time has come... Before we go to America for the Shaman Fight. And it is _I_ who will claim her myself."

"I-I'm sorry! It was just Asakura Yoh wasn't around that time, and I will feel disappointed if I return here without anything with me..."

"You _did_ return without anything with you, idiot." Kanna placed her hand in her waist and smokes heavily.

"No, at least he have something with him!" Matilda pointed to the old man. "He has brought defeat and humiliation to Hao-sama!"

"You disappoint Mari," Marion hugged her little spirit-doll, Chuck. "You are not suitable for being Hao-sama's companion."

The old man just left his mouth open, unable to say a word. He feels this is the end of him.

"You think so?" Hao smiled. "Well then, do you have any suggestions of what to do with him?"

"Let's get rid of him, Hao-sama!" Matilda brought out her pumpkin spirit-doll, Jack, and aimed at the old man.

"Yeah, Mari wants to kill him." Marion did the same for Chuck.

"Can we, Hao-sama?" Kanna brought out her spirit Ashcroft and aimed to the old man as well.

"It's up to you guys then." Hao stood up and walked away. "It's up to you how you'll do it."

The old man's eyes widened as he saw the three women slowly come near him. "W-wait, Hao-sama! No, please!"

"That's enough. Hao-sama has been very kind enough already. You never deserve his kindness." Kanna released a huge amount of smoke and Ashcroft targeted the old man with his jousting strikes.

"N-no! Hao-sama! Spare me!"

"Shut up, will you? Your very voice disgust us." Matilda held Jack way up and screamed, "Trick or Treat!"

"Mari is bored, and this is because of you." Marion's Chuck released constant amount of bullets, in target to the old man. "Cross Fire!"

The three consecutively bulls-eyed the old man, and his screams echoed through the forest.

"Sumeriya," Hao called upon the corpse's spirit, in which it arises in front of him. "You do the job."

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**Suspense first, guys! I assure you the next chapter will be loong. Well, yeah. Haha. =P**

**It's the ceremony of Yoh and Anna's engagement! Yey! XD**

**Chapter 16 in progress...  
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	17. Chapter 16

**Brace yourself everyone! I believe this is a loong chapter to start with. X_X **

**Hope you won't get tired reading it...**

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**CHAPTER 16**

**ASAKURA YOH AND KYOYAMA ANNA'S ENGAGEMENT CEREMONY [p1]  
**

That night, Yoh's unexpectedness finally arrived. He alone was walking towards the Asakura temple where the ceremony will be held, leaving Manta inside their house. Still, he cannot believe that the Asakura family is doing this kind of stupid tradition, having ceremonies for their marriages. But he knows he cannot do anything about it, and he and Anna will be married anyway, so...

"Yoh!" Yohmei arrived, panting. He seemed to be panicking. "What the hell was that...?"

"What?" Yoh suddenly panicked too, and he looked around his body. He thought there was some kind of insect or anything wrong with him. "What is it?"

"That!" Yohmei snatched Yoh's headphones and pointed at his loose shirt. "That thing you're wearing! What's with that?"

"Is there something wrong with my clothes? This is what I'm always wearing, grandpa!"

"_That's_ the problem! Haven't I told you there'll be a ceremony for you and Itako no Anna's marriage? Are you stupid enough to attend in such clothes? You're the very first one who ever did such humiliation in the Asakura family!"

Yoh looked at himself again. He stared at his untidy shirt, his loose pants and dirty wooden sandals... Indeed, he looks like a jerk to attend in such glorious ceremony.

"Yoh..." Yohmei carressed his forehead in disappointment. "Go and change while there's still time."

Yoh nodded. He realized he's wrong too, and to think the one he's going to humiliate is Anna, there's a huge reason to blame himself. But as he tried to run as fast as he could back to the house, Kino suddenly appeared from inside the temple.

"Yohmei! Where's your grandson?" They realized Kino was blind.

Yoh raised his hand. "Uhh, grandma! Please wait, I still have to cha..."

"Come on, it's already time." Kino followed where the voice is from, and instantly located Yoh. "Anna's already inside and the ceremony's beginning."

"Wait, Kino! Yoh's clothing is not appropriate, allow him to change first," Yohmei tried to stop Kino, but she just shoved him away.

"Clothing is not important in such occasion! And there's no time, everything's in threshold." Kino dragged Yoh inside the temple, leaving Yohmei sighing in disappointment.

When arrived inside, they saw Tamao arranging the candles to be presented in the ceremony, and Ponchi and Konchi helping arranging other things. Yoh looked around in amazement.

"Woah, I completely forgot what this temple looks like," Yoh continued to stare around, remembering this temple looks like a small chapel. The candles surrounding them, forming a nice scenery, makes it alive. Then he saw an altar in the far edge of the temple, where he and Anna are going to give their pledges.

Kino suddenly raised her cane and yelled, "Let the ceremony begin!"

Using her Itako prayer, all candles dimmed at once. Yoh was again amazed. The scent of candles and the sight of the room makes the scene mysterious-like.

"Asakura Yoh, walk here in front of me." Yoh turned to Yohmei who was already at the altar. He just stared at him. "YOH!"

"Ah, y-yes!" Yoh, instead of walking, ran towards Yohmei in panic. Yohmei slapped his head in disgust.

"Whatever." Yohmei raised his both hands. "Kyoyama Anna, walk here in front of me."

Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared in the opposite edge of the temple. It was Anna, who was wearing a very elegant dress which is sparkling in the midst of the dim light. Yoh's eyes widened as Anna slowly walked towards him, accompanied by Kino. Even though her figure changed, her expression seems the same.

As the two of them were now parallel with each other, Yohmei, acting as a priest, held two chalices. "Now, as the beginning of the ceremony, I ask the two of you to drink the wine that symbolizes your role-to-be as husband and wife."

He handed the chalices to each of them, and Yoh and Anna faced each other. Yoh, unaware of what to do, just stared at Anna. Anna however, just stared back at Yoh, expressionless. Yohmei therefore signaled the drinking of the wine and Anna started drinking it. Yoh just followed Anna.

After the drinking of wine, Yohmei raised his hands once again. "Behold! Now we witness the ceremony of an Asakura marriage. Asakura Yoh, a far greater generation of the family, is betrothed to Kyoyama Anna, an outstanding Itako from Asakura Kino. May we call upon our ancestors to shower their blessings to the both of them!"

Kino suddenly did the prayer, which Itakos use to call upon spirits. Kino then calls upon their ancestors spirits to witness the ceremony. Suddenly, the steady fire on the candles were bothered, because of a mild wind that came across them. Then numerous spirits appeared: all of them are the previous generations of the Asakura.

Yoh was again amazed.

"The spirits you see right now are our great ancestors who were the previous leaders of our known family. They will surround you and give you your blessings."

Thus the spirits surrounded Anna and Yoh, and Anna closed her eyes and put her hands together in prayer. Yoh followed Anna again.

Still, curious of what the spirits are going to do, opened one eye and looked at them. He saw the gloriousness of his ancestors, and he can feel their carress. He was more focused on the beauty of the ceremony rather than the ceremony itself.

Suddenly, Yoh's eye caught something strange. One of their ancestors looks a lot like Hao... Just a little grown-up. He was surprised.

"That's the first generation Hao," Yoh heard Anna suddenly whisper, eyes still closed. "He's here to witness the ceremony."

"Is he going to ruin it?"

"Stupid," Anna murmured harshly. "First generation Hao is already a spirit and can never be revived, so there's no way he can ruin it. Unless the current Hao do so."

Yoh nodded his head in result of understanding, but he seemed to have goosebumps. He has a feeling something related to Hao will happen.

When the spirits were done surrounding them, Yohmei once again raised his hands. "The spirits have given you their blessing! Now it is time to recite your pledges."

"Wha?" Yoh snapped. "I never heard of that. What are we gonna say?"

"Shut up," Kino appeared beside him and smashed his face with her cane. "Just go on with it."

The Asakura member must be the first to say his pledge, but seeing Yoh was unaware of either what to do or what to say, Anna instead does hers first.

"I, Kyoyama Anna, promise to be a good and understanding wife to my husband, and be always there when he needs me. I will always support him of whatever he does, and acknowledge even the stupidest thing he may do. Anyway, it's his life, not mine." Everyone inside the temple sweat-dropped. "Also, I will do my best to make sure I will become the first lady of the Shaman King."

Yohmei can't get over of Anna's 'pledge', remembering this is the exact same thing Kino said when their ceremony was held (except the Shaman King part). Still, he tried to ignore it. "Next, Yoh."

Yoh suddenly shivered. He wonders what he's going to say to Anna... He might even anger her if he slipped.

"I, Asakura Yoh..." He slightly hesitated. "Promise to be a good husband to my wife, and be always there whenever she needs me. I will always obey her orders because I know I'm in it for life, and I'll acknowledge anything she wants to do. And..." He doesn't seem to be shivering anymore, and he seems be calm and to know everything he's going to say. "...I promise to give her an easy life, just like what I promised when we were still kids... I promise to be the Shaman King..."

"And her become the Shaman Queen."

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**What do you guys think? =)**

**Part 2 coming up... Reviews please! =DD  
**


	18. Chapter 17

**Okaay... I guess the previous chapter isn't as long as I expected... Well, I'm happy that many appreciated it! Especially _anonymous_-senpai! Whoever you are. ^^**

**It took me a little early to post...**

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**CHAPTER 17**

**ASAKURA YOH AND KYOYAMA ANNA'S ENGAGEMENT CEREMONY [p2]**

"...I promise to be the Shaman King, and her to become the Shaman Queen."

After that very statement, Yoh smiled sweetly, which made Anna blush a little.

Yohmei, Kino and Tamao stared at Yoh. His recent actions were very different... He was definitely serious. They started to be amazed with him. But Tamao... She's happy for the both of them, that's true, but deep inside her heart she was all broken to pieces. How she wished she was at Anna's position.

After a minute of gaze, Yohmei came into his senses and therefore continued the ceremony. "Ah, yes... The both of you get into the very edge of the temple."

Yoh and Anna turned around and instead of walking, they just stared at the edge of the temple.

"H-Hey, Yoh!" Yohmei whispered. "What are you doing?"

Yoh looked back at him, clueless. "I'm waiting for Anna to walk first."

"Idiot!" Kino smashed Yoh's face with her cane again. "You're going to offer your hand to Anna and the both of you walk... Together!"

"Ah!" Yoh suddenly shivered again, and looked unto Anna whose face was covered with sarcasm. He slowly offered his hand, and after a moment Anna took it... And they slowly walked across the edge of the temple.

When they reached the edge, Anna kneeled down and Yoh followed. They were 10 meters apart from the altar, and faced it.

"Now, Kyoyama Anna, you walk back here and receive this gift as the token of our blessing."

Anna rises up and walked again slowly back to the altar, which Yoh's eyes followed. It's like he's staring to a very different Anna. She was indeed... Beautiful. Yoh continued to stare at her, his eyes wide as Anna walks gracefully toward the altar. Her every action was actually graceful. Like even she receives the gift, opening and closing her eyes, even that expression... Where can you find that kind of person? Anna was in fact very simple, but she's rare. Just staring at her like this makes Yoh blush a lot.

As Anna made her way back to Yoh, he still continued to stare at her. He never let his eyes away from her, which annoyed Anna a little.

"Yoh... Yoh!" Yoh gets back to his senses when he heard Yohmei shouting at him from the altar. "What's wrong with you?"

"A-Ah...!" Yoh suddenly rises up, but due to confusion he falls down. Anna just sighed. Yoh slowly got up and rubbed his head, but suddenly a smack in the face occurred... Another of Kino's cane.

"Will you act seriously? If I had enough your punishment will be more that this!" Kino roared.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Yoh gets up and walks with his arms and legs in sync towards the altar. Everyone just sighed in disappointment.

As he reached the altar, he still can't get enough of looking at Anna. Instead of listening to Yohmei's speech, Yoh just continued to stare at her even if it's meters away.

"Yoh... Please. Will you at least listen to me?" Yohmei was very diappointed of Yoh's performance. He was like a complete retard, no offense.

"S-Sorry!" Yoh tried his best to listen to Yohmei and tries to remove Anna from his head.

Yohmei gave him the gift of their blessing, and Yoh slowly walked back towards Anna's position and kneeled down.

"Those gifts will later on play a very big role in your relationship, so don't open them until a specific time come. Our ancestors themselves will open them for you." Yohmei started to get off the altar and faced Kino and Tamao. "Now the ceremony has come to end... Let's go."

Yoh got up and yawned, relieved that it's finally over. It was not really _that_ complicated as he thought. The Asakuras really just have nothing left to do with themselves. Without even checking up on Anna, he walked with everyone outside.

"Hey, Yoh! Where are you going?" Yohmei noticed Yoh behind him.

"Out, grandpa. Why?"

"Hey hey! Who says you're going out? You're staying here!"

"EH?"

"You and Anna will stay here overnight, Yoh. Our little party hasn't completely ended yet... Of course, the couple must have their own time together, you know, to gain mutual understanding..." Yohmei explained.

"Us... Anna and I... Together?" Yoh glanced at Anna, who in turn started preparing her sleeping bed. Yoh just sweat-dropped.

"Of course, what do you expect? You thought the ceremony will end up just like that?" Kino said. "This is where most of our ancestors have their first born."

Yoh and Anna's eyes popped out. "WHAT?"

"Hehe, kidding." Kino said as Yoh and Anna sweat-dropped. "But hey, it's true." Yoh and Anna stared at Kino sarcastically.

Tamao however, just can't accept the fact Yoh and Anna will finally sleep together in one room and have their mutual understanding whatsoever... Even though she knows the procedures of the ceremony and knows very well this would happen, she just feels uneasy. Even she herself doesn't know the reason why this ceremony's so sudden.

"Let the candlelights dim!" Kino used another of her Itako prayers and the candlelights dimmed, having only very few light. All around it was mostly dark. "Well then, good night and good luck." Kino smiled childishly.

Yoh and Anna watched the temple doors close, and they heard it lock. Now, it was only Yoh and Anna remaining inside.

Yoh glanced at Anna, who was ready to go to sleep. Anna suddenly stared at Yoh.

"Turn around, and _never_ peek." Anna ordered. "I'm going to change."

Yoh quickly did as he was told. He placed his hands at the back of his head and yawned again. After a few minutes, Yoh breaks the silence. "So, Anna... What are we going to do now?"

Anna was then heard behind his back. "Sleep of course. What else?"

"Eh? You aren't gonna follow what grandma says? Something like understanding...?"

"Tell me, Yoh. Do you want to do something like that?"

Yoh suddenly gets quiet. First, he has no idea of what to do in mutual understanding. Second, he was scared enough to have a deep conversation with Anna. And third, if ever they're going to get to know each other, he believes he already knew Anna well enough...

"N-No, I'm good." Yoh murmured.

Anna just stared at him. So what if Yoh disagrees? She has no problem with it as well. A conversation will do them no good either.

"You can turn around now." As Yoh did so, he saw Anna already lying in her bed. He just grinned.

Suddenly, he realized he has no sleeping bag. Where the heck did Anna get hers anyway? Did she have it all along the ceremony? So now what... Where is he going to sleep?

"In the floor, what else?" Anna muttered.

"Y-Yeah, guess there's no other choice..." Yoh just lied down on the floor in the very edge of the temple facing the ceiling. Sadly, Amidamaru isn't here... He was left back in the house with Manta, seeing there shouldn't be any interference... He should just get to sleep since he'll be getting up early tomorrow to train again.

Anna however, wasn't able to sleep. She glanced at Yoh, who was few meters away from her. It wasn't really clear if he's already asleep or not. Anyway, all she thinks about throughout the ceremony is the conversation she and Kino had a day ago... About the 1080 beads gaining a new power. Even the time the old man with the Sumeriya spirit attacked her and it didn't even come to mind to tell Yoh about it... She doesn't know why, but it kept bothering her. But just thinking about these things made her fall asleep.

It was full moon... Yoh and Anna were completely unaware that _someone_ is lurking around the shadows watching them ever since the ceremony began.

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**Finally, the ceremony's finished... Actually it must take longer, but I was afraid to mess up with it, so sorry... Just think of it as 'director's cut' for now.**

**For the next chapter: Will everyone know the truth? X_x**

**Chapter 18 in progress...  
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	19. Chapter 18

**I have something to say guys, I'm afraid it might take the story longer before the actual role of Hao in here... Because Ren, Ryu and Horohoro will have to play a big role for the next few chapters. Please don't get tired in reading my story though.**

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CHAPTER 18  
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In the midst of the full moon, at midnight... Silence surround the temple where Anna and Yoh stayed in. Inside the temple, Anna slept just beside a huge window facing the forest and the full moon shining through her face. She really liked those kind of things. Meanwhile, Yoh stayed a few meters apart from her, in the dark... That he is barely seen.

Despite of the silence occuring, they have no idea that there is someone... Rather, _something_ watching them from the forest. It was none other than Sumeriya, the spirit of the dead old man. It was up on a tree and caught Anna on sight inside the temple. All it has to do is to test Anna's fiancee of his power if he's in position of fighting with Hao. It approached the window near Anna, and covered the moonlight... Which caused her to wake up.

Rubbing her eyes, Anna instantly caught a glimpse on the huge shadow covering the moonlight, and is slowly approaching her. She quickly stood up in defense as soon as the spirit managed to enter inside, as if the walls were transparent.

"You again?" Anna muttered. "Where's your old man?"

Much to her surprise, the old man who was normally first to boast his pride wasn't with the spirit... And the spirit itself looks as alive as a person.

"I came to see Asakura Yoh..." The spirit hissed, sounding like a total demon to be exact. But that fearsome appearance didn't affect Anna at all.

"Yeah, that's what you've been saying ever since." Anna crossed her arms. "So now what? Don't tell me you want another wrath of my power."

The spirit stared at her. "You talk too harsh, young lady. Make sure you avoid that habit when you've faced my master."

"Your master again?" Anna glances on her back, checking if Yoh's somewhat awake... She feared he might know this. But dark surrounds everything.

"Of course, you should know by now that my master is the most powerful shaman in earth, and he won't stop unless he claims you."

"Ahh... Is that so?" Anna said sarcastically, letting the spirit waste its breath talking 'nonsense'. "Would you care to tell me who's this master of yours?"

The spirit laughed maniacally. "Finally you're interested to know my master! I wonder what would you react if you discovered my master is..."

"...Hao, isn't it?"

Anna suddenly froze in shock. She was afraid to look back where the voice came from, knowing that she wouldn't like it... But nevertheless she and the spirit stared at the darkness inside the temple as they heard wooden footsteps of sandals came closer to the moonlight.

And to their surprise, it was Yoh. He was in serious state. "Well?"

"How did you know my master?" The spirit asked in mild surprise. "I believe I haven't said anything..."

"Yoh!" Anna suddenly blurted out, shocked seeing Yoh seemed to be already knowledgeable about this.

Yoh just scratched his head. "Well, let's just say he's the only one who is very powerful and plenty of allies who wanted to destroy me, right? Sorry, can't think of anyone."

"Yoh... How did you know about this?" Anna absent-mindedly asked. Then something entered her mind. "Amidamaru..."

"No, Amidamaru didn't tell me anything... Even he was desperately trying to do so. Neither did anyone." He started to tell a story. "When I'm in my early marathon with Manta, I believe the old man and Sumeriya attacked you and Amidamaru in our house... It's because I happened to pass in our gate for another lap. Still ten meters apart, I saw the old man and the spirit being sent flying away and I discovered they were from the house. Before I entered, I overheard you saying 'Don't tell Yoh about this' or something like that to Amidamaru... Trying not to make me worry. I decided to play pretend then, acting like I don't know anything." Yoh grinned.

Anna's eyes widened. She couldn't believe Yoh would do such a thing. She must've underestimated Yoh too much. "And Manta...?"

"Ah, Manta decided to stop by a store to buy some sort of stuff, so I made my way here first. Don't worry, he has no idea about it." Thinking he had explained enough, he turned to Sumeriya and gets back to the topic. "So, what does Hao wanted to do now? Does he plan to finish me this very night?"

"That would be a pleasure, but my master wouldn't be pleased... He wanted to fight you himself. He sent me here to test you if you're powerful enough." The spirit glanced around. "But something's strange here... I don't see your spirit anywhere."

Yoh and Anna's eyes widened, and Anna suddenly turned to Yoh in irritance. He just realized it himself too. "Ahh! I forgot Amidamaru!"

"Idiot!" Anna exclaimed.

The spirit suddenly laughed again maniacally, delighted to meet another stupid shaman.

"W-wait! That's not the point... I have something to ask you first!" Yoh tries to change the topic quickly. "Why? Why did you attack Anna and Amidamaru in the first place?"

"Of course they're looking for you, idiot." Anna's eyebrow risen up.

"But what was with that strong wind that caused them to fly away? Did you guys fight them?"

"Of course we have to defend ourselves, especially you're not there."

"But how did you do that?"

"The 1080's new power, Yoh." Anna said. "Doing what I did the first time, I passed the power to Amidamaru which lead him to defeat this guys himself." Anna turned to Sumeriya. "Speaking of which, would you want me to do it again?"

"No, that would be a great humiliation for my master's future wife."

Yoh and Anna suddenly remained silent. However, Yoh's eyes widened in wonder. "Future... Wife...?"

"Oh, didn't she tell you anything? That my master will claim her from you and will be his wife?" Sumeriya suddenly smiled, seeing Yoh seemed to be very affected by this conversation. He thought, this must be his weakness. "If you remain as what you are now: weak and stupid, you will never stand even a single percent chance in defeating my master."

"Yoh, don't listen to him. Focus on the Shaman Fight, it's only two weeks away." Anna keep convincing Yoh that whatever happens, she doesn't plan to be swifted away to marry Hao.

Yoh stood frozen, which made the spirit realize he was slowly defeating Yoh by using his 'weakness'. Yes... A good news will finally reach Hao.

"Yoh?" Anna gets troubled seeing Yoh emotionless, eyes covered with his laid hair. Don't tell me... He's been too affected?

The spirit laughed again. "Hah, that's it, Asakura Yoh... Finally you understand you're already defeated from the start. There's no way you can win the Shaman Fight, especially being the Shaman King! A weak and stupid kid like you should be good to take your dolls and go home..."

"What are you referring by 'doll'?" Yoh suddenly snapped. He was not as affected as they expected him to be, his silence seemed to meant he was deep in thoughts. "Might you be referring to Amidamaru?"

"Indeed, he was a doll, wasn't he?" The spirit hissed. "He was being manipulated by some retarded kid."

"Ah, is that so?" Yoh clutched Harusame. He seemed to be thinking of attacking the spirit himself, alone. "Insult me all you want, but whenever your insults reached even my friends, that'll be unforgivable." Yoh pulled out the sword from its sheath.

"Yoh, what are you doing? Do you plan to fight it alone? Are you really out of your mind?" Anna scolded.

Yoh responded, eyes away from her. "You know, Anna... There are times when you really need to fight even if you know you have at least one percent chance of winning... Someone is doing this kind of stupid things because they have a reason: it's not because I hate the ones in front of me, it's because I love the ones behind me. Even though Hao is already going too far, like first he wants to fight with me then he's sending some spirit to insult me and Amidamaru, he must have a reason. But I won't let his actions go further. And of course..." Yoh tightened his grip on the sword. "I will never let him take you away from me."

Anna's face turned scarlet, her eyes glistening in the moonlight. Is it just her... Or did Yoh actually say that? Anna suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine, suspecting a disaster would happen very soon.

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**Hope you guys liked it. =)**

**Chapter 19 in progress...  
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	20. Chapter 19

**Sorry to disappoint you again guys! But I'll make sure that everything will connect until the end, so please bear with it a little longer... Anyways, thanks for the continuous support!**

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CHAPTER 19  
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"Of course," Yoh smiled and glanced to Anna, "I will never let him take you away from me."

This very words both surprises and confuses Anna. To think Yoh would actually say something like that, and it is very well obvious that he wasn't joking or anything. But even though he's here, acting like 'all-mighty' and heroic, what does he plan to do? Without Amidamaru, he's dead.

Yoh seemed to be very determined to fight, however. He has his Harusame already sheathed out, aiming the sword to the spirit. But the spirit, on the other hand, doesn't seem to appreciate what Yoh's trying to do.

"You're nothing when you don't have your spirit with you, you should know that." The spirit arrogantly hissed. "That's where a shaman gets his powers from."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Yoh grinned again, making the spirit more annoyed with him. "But I have made up my mind: I will fight even without Amidamaru. I believe I can manage."

Completely annoyed, Sumeriya tried to control its temper. They completely know that even Yoh insists, he would end up beaten by a spirit which power was doubled because of its master. And the spirit suppose that Hao wouldn't like that to happen. _Definitely._

"I won't waste my time on someone as weak as you right now," The spirit suddenly blurted out, causing Yoh to get pretty insulted. "I wouldn't want to dismay my master again."

"Oh, you're backing out? What a shame, isn't it?" Anna tries to ignore Yoh's serious statements about earlier, and now focusing on defeating the spirit once and for all. "After all, you _did_ waste your time just by coming here anyway."

The spirit glared at Anna.

Anna grinned in a 'challenging' way. "What, if you think you came here to interrupt the ceremony, you're dead wrong. The ceremony's long finished, so obviously you wanted to fight Yoh again, so there's no reason to be backing out especially finding out his spirit's not with him."

"Well," Yoh scratched his head, "I did recall that Hao wanted me alive until I get powerful... He wants to fight me, right?"

"That doesn't mean you won't fight this rubbish monster anymore!" Anna gets flared up again, and Yoh suddenly fell in shock. "Go, Yoh! This is another challenge in a Shaman Fight! Don't tell me you won't fight anymore just because your spirit's not with you? You still have your physical powers, plus the training I gave you!"

"Y-Yes! Yes ma'am!" Yoh stood up in an instant, and aimed Harusame at the spirit again. The spirit, however, stared at Yoh and laughed.

"Are you really _that _of a retard now? How do you think of fighting me? I'm surprised you're really trying to face death!" The spirit sent a huge amount of wind, which caused Yoh to instantly fly away.

Yoh stood up that very moment then, thinking of a way to at least harm the spirit. He, too, was tired of seeing this demon-like expression of it.

Anna, on the other hand, just watched the senseless fight of 'shamans'. She couldn't believe that there's a fight like this existing: a fight of a shaman with no spirit and a spirit with no master. The fight was still ongoing, and Anna can tell Yoh was unaware of how to finish this since he kept flying away by his opponent's attacks. But still, Yoh keeps on standing and in a sense, he doesn't feel any pain at all. She can see he can still keep up hour after hour, but even though Yoh could fight, will he probably finish this? No, an Oversoul is needed to do so.

It's already four in the morning, and the sun will rise thirty minutes after. Anna could think of an option: Yoh could just keep up until late morning and wait for his grandparents to come and defeat the spirit themselves. But it'll be bad for them to discover that a disaster like this interrupted the long-awaited ceremony, and discover that Yoh couldn't even defeat a spirit despite all the training he has underwent. Well, no one can blame him, since Amidamaru wasn't there and he has never trained without him.

Anna sighed and thought of her other option: even though it'll be a shame for someone who aims to be Shaman King, she prefers to help him by the power provided by the necklace of hers. She may forgive Yoh just this moment, maybe because she was touched by Yoh's words earlier... And of course because she wanted to finish this once and for all.

"Yoh!" Anna called on in the midst of the fight. She held the necklace up, signaling Yoh about her plan... In which he quickly understood.

Yoh looked back at the spirit, still with the Harusame aiming it, "We have wasted a lot of time, haven't we? What do you think if we go and finish this?"

The spirit raised an eyebrow. "I've been waiting for that. Have you found a way to defeat me?"

Yoh just smiled in response, hearing Anna whisper something like "Pride isn't necessary, idiot!" Well, he just wanted to act cool before he finish this.

Anna gripped on her necklace and uttered a prayer: a prayer taught by Kino. At the time they have talked, Anna has finally understood what the power of the necklace meant... And the possibility Hao may be excited over it.

Shortly after, light came from the necklace and it zoomed towards Yoh and his Harusame, making him powerful indeed. The spirit just watched in surprise what is happening, and before he knew it, Yoh has disappeared from his sight. The sun was halfway rising, but even if there's light Yoh was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you looking at? I'm right here!" Yoh appeared from above, like he just came from the ceiling. At that very second, he didn't hesitate to slash the spirit in half using Harusame and do so continuously until he landed.

With the spirit in amidst of defeat, something from his body came out... Something in form of a smoke. Anna and Yoh suddenly sensed Hao's presence, and Anna suspected that the smoke was Hao's power that was given to the spirit, and now just faded away. Sumeriya just faded away too, screams forming in echoes. So... Is this it? Has it finally ended?

Yoh and Anna stood motionless for minutes, the sun finally in the sky. It wasn't that bright yet though, so it must've be five-something in the morning. Well, they haven't felt neither the spirit nor Hao's aura anymore, so everything must have _really_ ended.

"How do you feel?" Anna asked softly.

"Tired." Yoh replied back, still motionless.

"You may use the whole morning to sleep then. Then in the afternoon, you'll start to train."

Yoh slid the Harusame back in its sheath and stared at the dim sun from the window. Yes, this Sumeriya issue may have ended, but this is only one of those creatures who is allies with Hao, and not very long he would face Hao himself. He glanced at Anna who was arranging her sleeping bed, thinking of the other reason to fight Hao...

Yoh, Anna and company started a new day, now focusing for the Shaman Fight, not knowing that three of Yoh's companions were currently just miles away from them...

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**...And you guys know who they are. =P Finally their appearance is on the next chapter!**

**Chapter 20 in progress...  
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	21. Chapter 20

**Just like the previous chapters, I tried my best to make this one at least a bit humorous. I hope you guys like it!**

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**CHAPTER 20**

On one early sunny morning, there were three gentlemen standing outside the Asakura Temple, looking innocently curious. Their heads were turning in random directions, eyes wandering all over the place. Their expressions yet tells the same thing: "Is this the place?"

The tallest of them all, which hairstyle was that of Elvis Presley's, held one wooden sword atop his shoulder. He then smirked. "Yeah, this must be it. I can recall the scenery."

The blue-spike-haired kid glared at him. "Just make sure, because we've been wandering around in the forest for... How many days? _Three_?"

The smallest kid with a 'horn' in his hair snapped. "I knew it, I should never have gone with you! It's your fault, you bastard!"

"What? Why are you blaming me? I was just dragged by this rascal too!" Horohoro never-hesitantly pointed to Ryu, who in turn glared.

"Ye guys wanted to go too, right? Ye don't have to hide it, ye know!"

"Who says I wanted to go to some place I didn't even know of, with two bastards with me? Damn, you will pay for this!" Tao Ren pulled out his weapon, the Kwan Dao and aimed at the two. Not forgetting that his tongari grew.

Horohoro covered himself in defense with his skateboard. "Then why did you come with us in the first place, you moron!"

"T-That's...!" Ren's face suddenly turned red, and slowly lowered his weapon. He turned around in embarrassment.

"That's because..." Ryu started his story. "When I arrived and invited Ren to Izumo..."

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**_FLASHBACK..._**

Inside Ren and Jun's current hotel...

"No, I don't want to." Ren didn't hesitate to answer after that very question, and quickly left.

"Eh? Why so, Ren? Don't you want to see Yoh-kun again?" Tao Jun, however, ran towards Ren.

"Why would I? That laughing bastard is irritating, and there's no reason to go see him! And the Shaman Fight in America is only a few weeks away, I don't have time to get chitchatting with morons like him."

Ryu, on the doorway, twitched an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean? It's been a while since we've seen each other and yet ye'r acting so cold. Is that the gratitude ye can give to the people who helped ye and yer old man together again?"

"I don't feel any gratitude, and I didn't ask you to do such thing anyway!" Ren harshly snapped. "Now leave, I don't want to see your face anymore."

"Ren, that's too rude of you." Jun grabbed Ren's arm. "He's right, we should at least give them gratitude for the big help they've done."

"Then _you _give them, nee-san. I believe I don't have any business with them anymore." Ren tries to let go of his arm until Jun grabbed the other.

"Oh no, you won't leave!" Jun winked. "The best gratitude to give them right now is to respond to their request. Yoh-kun wants to see you, so you will see him too! Don't you throw me that expression. You will do as I say, okay?"

Ren was left standing there, his face blank. What the? Did his sister just decided something for him? Ren glanced at Ryu, who in turn laughed at him. Ren can just feel 50% of his boiling pressure rising.

"Oh yes, I would make him my dessert specialty!" Jun, from the kitchen, exclaimed loudly. "Ren, make sure you would deliver this to Yoh-kun, okay?"

**_END OF FLASHBACK_**

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"...And that's what happened."

Horohoro's jaws dropped, and a second later, he was now rolling on the ground, laughing maniacally. His hands were clutching his tummy, which is probably hurting with that too much laughing. Ren, on the other hand, has the rest of his boiling pressure leaking.

"You laugh too much!" Ren aimed his weapon to him again.

"What a baby! Haha!" Horohoro continued to roll. "Being forced to do what his sister wanted him to do!"

"Shut up! It's like you aren't in the same situation, you moron!"

Horohoro stopped, probably in realization.

"Ye two are like kids." Ryu glared again. "Well, ye both _are_ kids. What am I saying?"

On the same time, far away from the temple, a pink-haired girl appeared and ran cheerfully towards them. "Ah, it's you guys!"

"Ahh, Tamao-chaan!" As expected, Ryu's eyes and hair formed in the shape of heart.

"I'm sorry if I haven't attended to you so soon... I just figured out today what my Kokkuri Board told me... It never crossed my mind that the adult and two kids would be you..." Tamao blushed. "You know, I thought it was a lost family..."

"F-Family?" The three yelled in sync. "No way!"

"Uhh, s-sorry!" Tamao bowed so low, thinking she once again failed to interpret what the board told her.

"Yeah, you should be sorry! There's _no way_ these two would be my f-family!" Ren pointed out to Tamao harshly, which made Tamao sob a little bit.

"What the...? Ren, you idiot! You made her cry!" Horohoro grabbed Ren's scarf.

"How could ye, Ren? I will never forgive those who hurted my Tamao-chan!" Ryu was the one who cried loudly instead.

"H-Hey! What the hell are you guys overreacting for?" Ren hit Horohoro with the bag of dessert made by Jun.

"N-No, please stop... I don't mean for you to argue with each other..." Even if Tamao's already in her most feminine side, the three won't even try to listen. "U-Um, Yoh-sama is currently having breakfast with Anna-sama and the Elderly Asakuras. I would show you the way..." Still, the three continued to argue. With Tamao already impatient, she quickly stomped her feet and yelled, "Will you guys stop it?"

Finally, Ryu, Ren and Horohoro stopped with their fighting weapons aimed at each other, and stared at Tamao.

Tamao however, was surprised of what she just did, and quickly covered her mouth. "I-I'm sorry!" Tamao bowed again low. "L-Like I said, Yoh-sama is eating breakfast..."

"Ohh, really?" Horohoro' stomach suddenly grumbled. "I'm so glad we're just in time for breakfast! I'm reeaally hungry, you know? I've been eating fruits these past three days!"

Tamao eyes widened. "B-But, I thought it's food what Ren-sama's holding right now..."

"It is," Ryu glared at Ren. "But he won't give at least a piece for us. He kept saying, 'This is for Yoh, this is for Yoh! My nee-san made it for him!' like that. And to think Jun-chan begged him for that for six hours."

"Shut up, bastard!" Ren's tongari grew again. "It'll be bad if I didn't do what she says..."

"You'll just give us our share, you moron!" Horohoro snapped, "We don't plan to eat the whole thing! _Idiot_!"

"What did you say?"

"ENOUGH!" Tamao screamed on top of her lungs, which made the three completely quiet. After a few breaths, Tamao slapped her head. "What's the matter with these three? Isn't there any occasion that would at least stop them for arguing?" Tamao glared at the three. "Come on, I'll take you to Yoh-sama."

Tamao stormed away, leaving the three, eyes open wide. Ryu gulped. "T-T-Tamao-chan is _scary_ like Anna-okami..."

Horohoro gulped too. "Y-Yeah... And to think she was like a crybaby a while ago..."

Ren just sighed, now feeling regret of what has become of him. _Why do I have to be in here?_

_

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_**For those who don't know, 'tongari' is the spike in Ren's hair. Just a little sharing.**

**And I like to advance Tamao's 'Anna-like' attitude, so here you go. Hope I didn't ruin her character.**

**And lastly, sorry for the harsh words these three were saying... I just wanna go with the flow of their personality... Heheh. =P**

**R&R please!**

**Chapter 21 in progress...  
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	22. Chapter 21

**Hmm... I've got a feeling people reading my story are getting few... :( I hope not, I'll try to finish this as soon as I can. Please keep up!  
**

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CHAPTER 21  
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"Ahh, I'm finished! Thanks for the food!" Yoh dropped his empty bowl and chopsticks over the table, and not a second longer, he lied down in his very position. He suddenly snored.

"Y-Yoh-kun!" Manta didn't expect Yoh to do that, especially the ceremony just occurred the night before. "H-Hey, what's up with you?" Manta turned to Yoh's grandparents, then to Anna. No one seem to react much about the ceremony that just occurred. What exactly did happen?

Just a moment later, Yohmei has finished his meal and crossed his arms. He sighed deeply, and suddenly turned to Anna. "Well?" Anna turned back. "Aren't you going to say anything about what happened last night?"

Anna continued her food, but answered politely. "There's nothing to tell, grandfather. We didn't do anything last night."

Suddenly, Kino was heard from beside Yohmei, coughing. She seemed choked.

Manta grabbed the water and offered it to Kino. "Be careful, Kino-san! Even though you can handle those things, you're still blind..."

"What? What do you mean by you didn't do anything, Anna? As in _nothing_?"

"Yes."

Kino almost fainted, and Yohmei however, caught her in time. "Hey, Kino... Don't overreact too much..."

"Y-Yohmei! This is a big misunderstanding! This is the first time that something like this happened in generations of the Asakura! As always, when the couple betrothed were left alone after the ceremony, they would usually do _that_! Or if not, they would at least talk to each other and tell each other their stories! That's called mutual understanding, you get it?"

Kino was already gripping Yohmei's neck, unabling him to breathe. Manta just sweat-dropped, Kino was indeed overreacting.

After almost killing Yohmei, Kino turned to Anna, who was still silently eating. "Tell me, Anna! Why did you do _nothing_?"

"It's because..." Anna gently arranged her bowl as she finished eating, and silently turned to the snoring Yoh. "I don't believe it's necessary."

"What kind of answer is that?" Yohmei snapped. "Of course it's necessary! First borns are needed early these days!"

Manta laughed sarcastically. _Now YOU'RE overreacting..._

Anna seemed not to be annoyed with the occurring noise. Manta finds it strange because whenever it's Ryu, Ren and Horohoro shouting and yelling like that, she would be in flames. But this is different... Anna seemed to have great respect to them.

"I believe we have gained mutual understanding, grandfather, grandmother." Anna suddenly said, which made the two elders stop. "Yoh and I have been together since we were very young, up until now he's fighting for the Shaman Fight. I believe that those years we've been together, it's enough for us to know more about each other. I believe..." Anna showed a little smile and turned to Yoh. "...We have known each other more than you expect."

"Anna-san..." Manta's eyes glistened as he stared at Anna. She was indeed strange today... And this just occurred in one night. Now he _was_ curious what happened last night. "So... If you guys didn't do anything after the ceremony and slept that very moment, why is Yoh-kun very tired? And you seem very pale too, Anna-san, haven't you guys slept much?"

Anna suddenly get goosebumps, which surprised Yohmei and Kino.

"Yes, now that I've think about it... Why is that, Anna?" Yohmei asked.

Anna doesn't know what to say. She couldn't tell the story that one of Hao's allies arrived to destroy the ceremony and kill Yoh, nor Hao wanted her to be his wife. This would surely panic the two.

"I-I don't know! Yoh and I were far apart from each other, so I have no idea if he's sleeping or daydreaming. As for me..." Anna turned around. "It's just not my day."

Manta, Yohmei and Kino just stared, but later on they were convinced of Anna's 'not-so-accurate' reason.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation. But Anna seemed to sigh in relief: she was saved by a knock.

"Um, excuse me," It was Tamao. She slid the door slightly, only seeing half of her face. "We have guests..."

"We have?" Yohmei wondered, seeing they haven't had any guests since then. Well, Yoh, Anna and Manta are an exception. But because Tamao brought the guests all the way here, they don't seem to be Hao's allies.

Tamao slid the door a little bit more. "They came to see Master..."

"YOOH!" Alas, the door was opened very wide, and the 'family of bastards' stumbled inside. They even caused a damage on the door, seeing all of them don't fit at once.

"H-Horohoro! Ren! Ryu-san!" Manta's eyes popped out in surprise. and it's not just Manta, Yohmei and Kino had their jaws dropped too.

With this commotion, the sleeping-soundly Yoh woke up, with _intense_ look in his eyes. His face was like a zombie that causes everyone to shout in shock. His eyes were sunk, his eyelids are swollen, his face was deformed... Yeah, a zombie indeed.

"Y-Yoh! What the hell happened to you?" Horohoro was in the very far corner of the room, his hands covering the horrible sight.

"M-Master! W-We're sorry if we're _that_ unpleasant to look at!" Ryu took the blame of what happened to Yoh himself.

"H-Hey! At least wash yourself first before you appeared to us!" Ren turned at the Asakura family currently having breakfast, and his eyes widened. "D-Don't tell me you have eaten with THAT kind of face!" Ren looked at Yoh in disgust.

"What's the future-wife doing anyway?" Horohoro moved away his hands and turned to Anna, who was in turn in a quiet position. "Hey! Don't you see your boyfriend in a hideous state right now? Isn't it a wife's job to make his husband pleasant at all times?"

Anna's eyes opened, and a lightning flash followed after. "You are nobody to tell me that. I don't care what Yoh wanted to look like in front of people... And his face right now is the right greeting for idiots like you who stormed inside our dining room and broke someone's property."

After few minutes of silence, everyone stared at Yoh who was rubbing his eyes intensely. His mind dozed for a moment, trying to get a glimpse in reality, and slowly looked around. When he saw blurred images of Horohoro, Ren and Ryu, he smiled and raised up his hand.

"Hey guys..." Yoh's eyes were closing again. "Goood morniiing!" And he fell down and snoozed again.

The rest of the people inside had their jaws totally dropped, their face blank. What the, Yoh still hasn't changed even a single bit!

"YOH...!" Horohoro was about to Oversoul and attack Yoh when Manta ssuddenly stuck on Horohoro's leg.

"W-Wait, Horohoro!" When Horohoro's about to ask why, Manta just sweat-dropped. "Yoh-kun's very tired... He hasn't slept much last night. No one can blame him, anyway."

Ryu appeared from behind. "Why? What did Master do last night?"

"It's..."

"Ahem!" Yohmei suddenly interrupted. He's probably trying to avoid Manta spill out the details. "Anyway, you kids are not in position to suddenly appear while we're having our breakfast. Tamao, would you please escort them outside?"

"Hey! We came all the way here to see Yoh, so don't you just shoo us away!" Horohoro snapped.

"Can't you see Yoh's asleep? Wait outside 'til he's awake!" Yohmei stomped his feet as a sign that he was now angry. Tamao, in regret that her master was displeased with her, pushed Ryu, Horohoro and Ren away.

At the moment they're gone, Kino sensed she can now talk with Anna safe. Their recent conversations seemed to be safely-private... Only her trusted companions can only hear about it.

"Anna, what do you plan to do with your new power?" Kino asked.

Anna just looked at her with calm eyes. "Nothing so far, master."

Yohmei and Manta just looked at each other in wonder. They really have no idea about what they're talking about.

"What's with the new power, Kino?" Yohmei asked.

Kino just sighed. It seemed to be safe to talk about this, and Manta doesn't seem to be a talkative-person much. Yoh's asleep, so everything's fine.

"I discovered that the new power Anna's in possession was created by herself." Kino said it, and surprisingly direct-to-the-point. "We both thought in the start that it was from the spirits, and they're providing their own powers inside the necklace. But no, it isn't... Anna developed that power by herself. And that power..." Kino stared at Anna, who in turn just closed her eyes. "May be the key to defeat Hao."

"H-Hao?" Yohmei and Manta's eyes widened. "R-Really?"

Kino glared. "I just told you."

"So Yoh wouldn't have to go all the bother to win the Shaman Fight? I mean, that's one of the reasons why he joined, right... To defeat Hao..."

"No!" Anna slapped the table with her left hand. "Yoh will join the Shaman Fight, and will certainly win it. I trained him ever since for this, so whatever happens he must win... And I will be his lady."

"But Anna," Yohmei stared at her. "Is it true that your power can defeat Hao?"

"It's only a theory, grandfather." Anna sipped a cup of tea. "If it was really true, Yoh should learn it and he'll be the one to use it."

Everyone turned to Yoh, who was deeply asleep and snoring. No, before learning Anna's power, more training is needed. And thus Yohmei thought of the fastest way to do this.

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**Waiting for reviews...**

**Chapter 22 in progress...  
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	23. Chapter 22

**The next chapters will be in action already, so please stay tuned! =D**

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CHAPTER 22  
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"Hmmmm..."

Unfortunately for Horohoro, Ren and Ryu, they can't think of anything to say. It's been hours since they last saw the Elderly Asakuras and Anna in breakfast, and now it's already three in the afternoon.

The three, along with Manta and Yoh who has finally acquired good sleep, were gathered around the table, having their afternoon tea. They haven't spoken a word since they gathered, and silence surrounded the living room for about... Half an hour.

After another thirty minutes, Horohoro sighed - a marvelously deep sigh. The rest turned their heads to him, wondering what could possibly made him intensely depressed.

"Oh, nothing." Horohoro answered the question from their faces, but still show the expression of great disappointment.

"Don't you make that face, I don't feel comfortable." Ren glared and sipped a portion of his tea.

"I don't care about that," Horohoro glared too, making his depression turn into furious. He took a piece of Jun's homemade sandwich placed on the table. "I just feel bored, that's all."

"Then why did you come here?" Manta popped between them. "Yoh didn't ask you to do so."

"Exactly," snapped Ren. "That's my point. These bastards - " points to Ryu and Horohoro - "were the mastermind. You know what? They dragged me all the way here and look what we're doing now! Having an afternoon snack with people who are more stupid than a rat!"

"Will you shut up?" Horohoro slapped the table with his hand. "I have enough of your complaints! You've been complaining for almost a hundred times now! What good will it do to blame us if you yourself agreed in the first place?"

"Enough!" Ryu pulled Ren and Horohoro back in their seat, who are almost trying to attack each other with their weapons. Ryu just sighed... Maybe it was such a bad idea to go in Yoh's place. "I'm sorry, Master Yoh, it's my fault."

Yoh, however, grinned. "Don't ever say so. Actually I'm grateful."

The three stared at him. "Why?"

"Because I was able to see you guys again." Yoh smiled, and to their surprise, it's a sweet and innocent smile. "The last time we've been together was when I fought Ren in the first part of the Shaman Fight."

Ryu, Ren and Horohoro gets quiet. They recall the memories they had with the three rounds of the first part of the Shaman Fight, and all of them won which allowed them to qualify for the second part. And that will be in a week, in America. They finally agreed to Yoh, that it's really very good that they have seen each other again.

"May I ask you something, Yoh?" Horohoro suddenly broke the silence.

"Sure, what's that?"

"What did you do last night? You're so tired and Manta said something about it..."

"Ah, that?" Yoh scratched his head. After thinking for a few seconds, he laughed. "Oh, I forgot!"

"What?"

"Haha, kidding. It's an engagement ceremony for me and Anna."

"What's that?"

"Hmm, how can I say this? It's like a preparation for our wedding... In a form of ceremony, something like that."

"What?" Horohoro's eyes widened. "You're already preparing for your wedding? In... In... In that age?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What do you mean 'why?'! You're still thirteen and you guys are already preparing for your wedding? What was that all about?"

"I don't know myself, my mother said it was already a tradition of the Asakura family to do so."

"As far as I know," Ren suddenly snapped. "In the Asakura family, the couple betrothed will have this kind of ceremony on the year before they marry. Are you guys going to marry next year?"

"Don't joke like that, Ren." Yoh sweat-dropped. "You know the right age for a person to marry. My grandparents might be just be excited. Grandfather said it's just a preparation... Marriage is still many years ahead."

"Uh-huh. But you must be counting the days already... Aren't you looking forward to it?" Horohoro poked Yoh, teasing him.

"But Yoh-kun," Manta blurted out. "Your grandparents strictly forbid to tell others about this... You'll be punished for sure."

"Come on, Manta. These are my friends, I can trust them." Yoh smiled. "Unless you won't tell them that I told you."

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Meanwhile, Yohmei and Anna were heading to another of Asakura's sacred temples. This time it was a temple that's unknown to many, only the leaders of the family knew about this. Anna seemed to be the first ordinary person who will visit this sacred temple.

It was small, probably the smallest of the temples. It was located far from the house, in a creepy forest, so no one would dare to go there. When they arrived, the door was locked... And no ordinary keys can open it - but a spell.

Yohmei whispered a Shaman spell on the door as quietly as he could, that even Anna couldn't hear it. Suddenly the door opened, creeked as it created a hole big enough for the two to come in. It was dark... Ultimately dark even if the sun was on its zenith. Anna was asked to use her Itako spell to light candles, in which herself can't even see. Thus she obeyed, and to her surprise, thousands of candles were lit inside the small temple. Now it was brighter than the day itself.

They walked inside, and Anna looked around. It was very old, full of cobwebs and dirt all over the place, creeking floors and walls... Anna wonders if this place is _really _sacred. Suddenly Yohmei stopped walking, and so did Anna... But when Anna looked in front, there was a dusted old book placed in a table. It's located on the far edge of the temple.

Yohmei took the book, and wiped the dust out of it. When partly cleaned, words appeared from the front cover, saying: 聖典 _(Sei__ten; _Eng Trans: Sacred Book_)._ He handed it to Anna, but in turn, the girl just stared at it.

"You might ask what this is." Yohmei muttered, and Anna nodded. "This is not just an ordinary book, it's _very_ sacred than you think. Believe it or not, this was made by the second generation Hao."

Anna's eyes widened.

"We can say this is his diary, of what happened to him in both his first and second generation. He wrote every details of his experiences, even the ways he used to defeat his opponents when he joined the Shaman Fight. When this was found, the Asakuras kept it and considered it sacred, knowing that Hao will reincarnate himself again and may be the key to defeat him. But we discovered it wasn't, because it has another purpose. Throughout the years it has developed to be a tool - a tool to help Shamans to train. And this will be the one you'll use to train Yoh."

Anna stared at it for a few minutes, and when she finally accepted the unbelievable fact, she accepted it.

"H-How do I train Yoh with this?"

"As the trainer, you should accept the fact..." Yohmei's eyes glistened. "That you could kill him."

* * *

**I hope you liked it. . XD**

**Chapter 23 in progress...  
**


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